Me, Myself and Andy
by 01SonAmy01
Summary: Amy Rose liked herself the way she was: feisty, romantic and a girl. But when it hits home that Sonic is awkward around her, she transforms herself into Andy Rhodes. In her effort to get Sonic's attention, what lengths will she go to to strengthen their relationship, as a boy? SonAmy.
1. If I Was a Boy

**Okayy.. so I only just finished Sinister Soulmates, and this idea has been attacking me for a while so I allowed it to invade my mind and here it is! :) I haven't planned it all, so I don't know exactly what will happen, but I know that it will help my writing improve :) So let's hope my updates aren't as slow this time, and I hope you all enjoy it!  
>Oh and and obviously this is a SonAmy, with some Taismo and Knouge.<strong>

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><p><strong>Me, Myself and Andy<strong>

_Amy Rose liked herself the way she was: feisty, romantic and a __**girl**__. But when it hits home that Sonic is awkward around her, she decides to make some changes, and transforms herself into Andy Rhodes. In her effort to get Sonic's attention, what lengths will she go to to strengthen her relationship with him, as a __**boy**__?_

**Chapter 1 ****– If I Was a Boy**

Amy Rose, a teenage hedgehog and a hopeless romantic, should've been enjoying the spring sunshine as she walked through the park. But she wasn't. If she was honest with herself, she was bored. A nice long walk on a beautiful day like this was almost pointless if there was no one to share it with. She breathed a sigh as she plodded down the path, immune to the beauty of the newly-grown daffodils that poked out of the grass. She ignored the soft calls of birds and the heat of the sun as it gently warmed her back.

.

The park was filled with people: mainly couples and their children. Amy frowned; knowing that it would be a while before her own romance even took off at all. Her love interest was spontaneous and unpredictable, and he just happened to be the fastest and most famous hero that ever existed. Sonic the Hedgehog. Amy's heart felt lighter just thinking about him. He was just so strong and handsome, and yet so impossible to catch for just one moment. Of course this made her attempted romance with him difficult but that didn't stop her from trying. Sonic liked to run, but that didn't mean that he disliked her. Or at least she hoped. He just enjoyed being active, but it got annoying at times when she was trying to converse with him and he would rush off randomly.

.

As Amy turned into the fields, a sight met her eyes that finally made her smile. Lazing around on the grass was Knuckles the Echidna, and next to him was the hero himself. She grinned and broke into a run, eager to see them. "Hey! Sonic! Knuckles!" she yelled.

The two males looked up as she arrived beside them. Knuckles smiled and nodded at her, getting to his feet. Sonic's reaction, however, was not quite what she had hoped her. He suddenly looked uncomfortable and leapt up from the ground, shifting his weight between his feet. Amy threw her arms around him, squeezing him happily.

"Oh Sonic, it's been so long since I've seen you," she giggled.

"I saw you yesterday, Amy," he choked, slowly prying her arms off him.

"I know," she grinned, "But yesterday can seem like ages ago when you're without your love!"

.

Sonic blushed. "Err... r-right," he stuttered.

"Anyway, I was thinking we should hang out. Maybe you can teach me some battle stuff, you know, without my hammer," she suggested. "I know I've asked you that before but since you _ignored _it," she said, "I had to ask again. So can we do that?"

"Um, maybe some other time, Amy. Sorry guys, I gotta run! See ya!" With that, he raced into the distance, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

Amy growled and clenched her fists. "Damn it, Sonic!" she cried. "I HATE it when you do that!" She stamped her foot into the dirt, panting angrily. "The nerve of that guy!" she muttered. Knuckles laughed and she whipped round to glare at him. "What exactly is funny about this?" she hissed in his face.

He promptly closed his mouth and held up his hands. "Nothing," he said quickly.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she said, moving away from him again.

.

Suddenly her rage was gone, and she gazed sadly at the horizon where Sonic had disappeared. She turned back to her companion and sighed. "Why does he do that?" she said quietly.

"Huh?" he said. "Do what?"

Amy heaved another sigh at his stupidity. "Why does he run away every time I talk to him?"

"It's not every time-"

"Answer the question, Knuckles!" she snapped.

Knuckles shrugged. "Well... you are kind of... you know."

"Kind of what?" she growled.

.

Knuckles stepped back again, not wanting to provoke her anger. "Err... I mean Sonic's just uncomfortable sometimes," he blathered. "He feels intimidated by girls."

Amy stood back, surprised by this information. She looked down, considering it. She'd definitely never thought of Sonic as the nervous type. "Really?"

"Yeah. He's happier talking to other guys because... well... they're guys," he said. He raised an eyebrow at her. "If you were really close to Sonic, you'd know that," he added.

Amy clenched her fists again and gritted her teeth. "I _am_ close to Sonic!" she yelled.

Knuckles backed away, trying to look apologetic. "I know, I know!" he yelped. Then he straightened again, calming himself. "Maybe if you were a boy he'd talk to you more, but you're a girl so he gets freaked out," he said. "Then again, he _does_ talk to Cream and Cosmo, and even Rouge, so maybe it is just you."

.

"Wait. What?" Amy said, suddenly looking up at him.

Knuckles looked panicked. "Er, I didn't mean it in that way. It probably isn't you. I just meant that-"

"No, no, the other thing," she said, suddenly very interested.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh... I said that if you were a boy maybe he'd talk to you."

Amy stared at him for a moment. "You think so?" she said.

Knuckles shrugged again. "Yeah. But you're not," he reminded her.

She nodded. "Thanks, Knuckles. I'd better go home now," she said quietly, deep in thought. "Bye."

.

She turned the other way and began the walk back to her house. As she paced along, her mind was lost amongst new thoughts. She found it hard to believe that Sonic felt nervous around girls but then she'd seen it first hand. And it was true that he hung out with Tails and Knuckles more than anyone else, who were of course boys. She bit her lip. Was that why he avoided her so much? It did make sense she supposed. Knuckles's comment about her closeness with Sonic had bothered her considerably. Amy had always thought that she knew Sonic like the back of her hand, but now she wasn't so sure. She knew his favourite things, but did that really count? She didn't know anymore. What if she really didn't know him so well after all?

.

Amy stopped outside her home as she unlocked the door. She let herself inside and closed it again, leaning against the wooden frame. Did she really not know that much about him? How was she supposed to know anything about him if he wouldn't let her get within a mile of him? The only opportunities for them to spent time together were whenever the gang had gone out as a group. Other than that, she was hardly ever alone with him at all. And now Knuckles had told her that it was because she was a girl. She walked to her bedroom to study herself in the mirror. It was true that her dress did make her look girly, but she liked that. How could Sonic be awkward around her? She didn't _act_ very girly. She was energetic and strong like him, and she enjoyed the same kind of activities as him. So maybe she loved romance, so what? Was that a problem?

.

Amy frowned at her reflection, mentally scolding herself. She'd never believed in changing who you are for anybody. But... for Sonic? She shook her head.

'_No_,' she thought. '_I can't change the way I am just for him._' She looked at the ceiling, huffing. '_Oh but then if I don't he'll never like me! Ugh... what should I do? I can't _act_ like a boy but..._' She looked at herself again, thinking back to what Knuckles had said.

"_Maybe if you were a boy he'd talk to you more..."_

She stared into her reflection, thinking carefully. She was formulating one of the weirdest ideas she had ever thought of. It was ridiculous, crazy even.

'_But_,' she thought, '_It just might work_.'

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><p><strong>Hopefully you can all guess what her plan is ;) But all will be revealed if you don't get it. I guess this story is sort of based on 'She's the Man' which is an AWESOME film and if you like teenage romances you should watch it! Thanks for reading this, and I'd be really grateful for reviews. Especially since it's the first chapter and I want to know what you guys think :)<strong>


	2. Andy Rhodes

**I know what you're thinking. OMG she updated quickly. But it's only because I was half way through this chapter when I posted the first one, and I had an extra week off school so next week it won't be so quick :(. Anyway, enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 <strong>**– Andy Rhodes**

For the next couple of days, Amy had found herself doing what she hated to do. She kept herself cooped up in her house, refusing to leave at all costs. To say that she was bored was an understatement, but she'd decided that it was best to lay low for a few days before putting her plan into action. She needed to leave enough time so that her friends began to wonder where she was before she met them again. So she'd had to amuse herself by endlessly flicking through the TV channels, finding nothing much of interest, and moping around in her room, feeling extremely fed up.

.

Thankfully, her self-confinement soon came to an end, and she was awake bright and early the next morning, ready to set her plan into motion. She got dressed into her usual attire, retrieved some money from her purse, and with a determined smile on her face she left her house for a very important shopping trip. She walked into town, making sure that none of her friends were nearby. She didn't want to risk them seeing her today, although she hadn't begun her little plot just yet but if they saw her it would ruin everything. She kept to the edge of the sidewalk that was partly shadowed by the trees as she walked. There was a spring in her step and she was filled with confidence. Her plan was certainly an interesting one but she was sure it would be easy. And if it meant she could be closer to Sonic then it was worth it.

.

As she arrived inside the shopping centre, she consulted the shop list on the tourist map. Her gaze hovered over the locations of several shops for men that she'd never been in before, and she set off. She soon found the entrance of 'Clothes 4 Guyz' and stepped in, suddenly feeling a bit out of place. Amy wandered through aisles of clothes, wandering where to start. She began to search through a rack of T-shirts, finding a range of colours and designs. Most of them included skulls or footballs and even weird slogans that she didn't understand. She frowned. '_Ugh... this place doesn't have anything that I would wear_,' she thought. She tilted her head as she regarded the tops again. "But then I suppose that's the point," she said to herself.

.

She finally picked out a black T-shirt with a skull on the front and continued to search the aisles. She scanned racks of jeans, biting her lip in concentration. She honestly had no idea of which type would be best and she huffed in frustration. It was at that moment when someone tapped her shoulder, and she turned around to see a blue wolf with a shirt that had 'Shop Assistant' written across it.

"Excuse me, Miss," he said. "Can I help you?"

Amy smiled at him. "Yes, I can't decide which pair of jeans would be best for... erm, my boyfriend," she replied. "And they need to be really manly."

"Ah, well then you need the loose-fitting type. Baggy jeans always look masculine," he said.

She smiled with relief. "Then I'll take a pair!"

The shop assistant nodded. "Anything else you need help with?" he asked.

Amy paused. She quickly looked at herself in one of the mirrors before turning back to him again. "Actually there is," she said. "Do you sell hats?"

"Yes, I can show you our selection. It's just round the other side of this aisle. Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"

"Erm... the manliest hat you've got," said Amy.

The wolf laughed. "I'm sure a baseball cap will do."

Amy picked out a simple cap with yet another skull on it. She then went on to buy new shoes and a pair of sunglasses, and soon she'd gathered everything she needed. She left the store and began to make her way out of the centre, glancing at her reflection in a shop window as she walked past. She stopped, realising that there was one more thing she needed to do.

.

When Amy finally got back home it was well into the evening and her feet hurt but she didn't care. She raced into her bedroom to try out her new clothes. Before she'd left the shopping centre she'd gone to the hair salon and had her quills completely re-styled. She'd had them shaped upwards, but she couldn't bear to change the colour of her fur so she simply had red highlights put in like Shadow.

.

She put on a vest before trying on the T-shirt to make her chest look flatter, and she reluctantly removed her gold bangles from her gloves. Amy posed with her hands on her hips. She looked herself up and down in the mirror. She was wearing her new sporty trainers, baggy jeans, the skull T-shirt she'd bought, the baseball cap and the sunglasses. She smiled in satisfaction. With her new outfit and hairstyle she looked completely different.

She looked exactly as she had planned.

She looked... like a boy.

She grinned, trying out different manly poses. "Phase one is complete," she said excitedly to herself. "This might be a little crazy but it will all be worth it."

.

Amy, being an organised person, had already worked out what she was going to do. She sat down on her bed for a moment to go over her plan. '_Okay_,' she thought. '_So tomorrow, I'll go and find Sonic and others - as the new, male me - and hopefully I'll become their friend. Then finally Sonic will hang out with me! And I'll get him to teach me some more battling techniques and I can get to know him even more and it will be so perfect!' _She giggled happily. '_Now I just need an excuse for the real me not being around_,' she thought. '_Who knows for how long I'll have to act like a boy? It could be weeks!_' She rested her chin in her hands as she thought.

.

Finally deciding what to do, she pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from inside a drawer in her desk and sat down in front of it. She held the pen over the paper for a second, considering her message, before starting to write.

_To all of my wonderful friends,_

_I'm sure that by now you're wondering where I am. Don't worry, I'm safe. __I just need some time for myself to clear my head. I don't know how long I'll be away, and I can't tell you where I am, but just know that I will be back as soon as I can._

_Love, Amy. Xxx_

.

Amy read over her note, smiling in approval. She'd managed to tell her friends an excuse without giving too much away. Hopefully they would understand. She folded the letter and put it in her pocket, planning to pin it to her door on the next morning. Everything was ready, and so was she. As a boy, she would meet Sonic all over again and become his trusted friend, without him feeling awkward. It was a good plan, or at least she thought so. It was flawless. Although, she wasn't willing to pay for a hotel so she'd have to somehow get back to her house every night, unseen. But she was certain that she'd find a way to do it. She had to, for the sake of her and Sonic's relationship.

.

She yawned as she walked over to the window, noticing that the sky was already blanketed in darkness, lit only by the stars. She smiled, feeling comforted by the idea that just maybe Sonic might have been looking at the same view. "The things I do for love," she said dreamily. She changed into her pyjamas and jumped onto her bed, slipping under the duvet. "Out with the old and in with the new," she murmured, yawning again. "Tomorrow I wake up as a new girl. No, a new _man_." She smiled at the strange thought as her eyelids grew heavy, knowing that once she woke up in the morning, things would be about to get a lot more exciting. She couldn't have been more right.

.

Amy slept peacefully through the night and was gently awoken by the long slit of sunlight that leaked through a crack in between the curtains. She blinked rapidly, becoming accustomed to the sudden change of light and sat up. She squinted as the sound of birds singing in the distance reached her ears. As soon as she remembered her plan for the day she smiled eagerly and leapt out of bed. It took her mere minutes to get changed into her new outfit and she hurriedly made toast for a quick breakfast. "This is it," she told herself as she prepared to leave the house. "As Sonic would say - here we go."

.

She locked her house and walked up the path into the street, wondering where to begin. She turned towards the park, hoping that at least one of her friends would be there, and began to make her way up the road. It suddenly occurred to her that she needed a manlier walk, as her own style of walking was rather feminine. She glanced around the area at other males. There was a dark red tiger moving down the opposite side of the road, and she observed his walk. He had a sort of bounce in his step as he strutted along the pavement.

.

Amy contemplated his movements. '_I need to make myself seem as masculine as possible_,' she thought. '_So I guess I'll just walk the way he did, but I'll emphasise it_.' She attempted to copy his walk but made it a lot more noticeable as she tried to swagger down the pavement. She bent her knees and sprung with every step, feeling energetic and excitable. It was after a short a while that she noticed people were looking at her, but she decided that it was just because they didn't recognise her. After all, the people of Mobius often knew each other by their faces.

.

The pink hedgehog strolled through the park, searching for any signs of her friends. The sun was shining brightly and the air felt warm, so it wasn't surprising that a lot of people were out and about. She just hoped that at least one of her friends would be among them. She couldn't wait to try out her new persona, and to her relief she soon spotted Sonic and Tails kneeling in the grass. Tails was holding a small mechanical device - probably a new invention - and he was pointing to several of its parts, explaining them to his brotherly figure.

.

Amy smiled. She was about to call out to them, but quickly remembered that she had no idea what kind of things she was supposed to say, and her voice needed to sound different. She deepened her it to a level that she thought sounded masculine, and tried to get their attention. "Hey there!" she called in a lower, husky voice.

The two males turned their heads, surprised.

Amy swaggered over to them, saluting casually. "Hi," she repeated.

They looked at her.

"Hi," Sonic said.

"Hello," said Tails. He glanced at her, looking confused. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you walk like that? Is there something wrong with your legs?"

.

Amy blushed, chuckling in embarrassment. "Nah, it's just... I was just trying to... I was letting you guys know that we're cool, yeah? Dudes," she added.

Sonic and Tails stared at her, before looking at each other.

"Urm... yeah," Sonic said.

Amy felt herself getting nervous. She was usually organised but when it came to matters such as this she was known for making rash decisions. She had no idea of what to say. '_Think of something manly_,' she told herself desperately. "Hey," she said, "Check out my muscles, dudes." She held up her arm and bent it, trying to make it seem muscular. Although she was in fact fairly strong, it looked flat.

.

Tails looked a little worried at this point. "Urm... cool..." he said slowly.

"What's your name?" asked Sonic, trying to break the ice.

Amy swallowed. She was beginning to feel panicked. She had completely forgotten to even think of a name! Almost by instinct, she said,"Am-... I mean, Ahh..."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Ahh?"

"Andy!" she cried. "Andy. It's Andy. Andy Ro-... I mean, R-Rhodes. Yeah. Andy Rhodes."

Sonic shook her hand. "Hi, Andy. I bet you know who we are," he grinned.

.

Amy nodded. "Sure," she said. "Sonic and Tails! Who wouldn't know, man?" They smiled and she felt a small wave of relief. At least she was a little more relaxed now. She crossed her arms, trying to look casual as she regarded the hedgehog and the fox. Her sunglasses slipped down her nose and she hastily pushed them up again, straining her mind for something boyish to say. "It's so hot today, it just makes you wanna punch something, doesn't it?" she said, slamming her fist into her other hand.

"Not really," Tails said, looking concerned again.

Amy bit her lip. She forced a laugh. "I'm only kidding with ya, dude," she chuckled, slapping him on the back.

.

Sonic was, at this point, looking very bored. "Is there a reason you came to talk to us?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Amy carefully. "Yeah, I was hoping that you could show me some of your battle secrets, Sonic. Do ya think you could show me some stuff... man?"

Sonic scratched the back of his head. "I... wouldn't you rather get a tutor? I mean, I'm not even qualified-"

"Sonic, look!" yelled Tails, pointing to the skies. They looked up to see Dr. Eggman in his Egg Carrier, yelling something at terrified crowds below him. People were scattering into the park, screaming.

Sonic growled. "Sorry, Andy. Maybe we'll talk some other time, I've gotta sort out this clown!" he called, preparing to run off.

.

"Wait!" cried Amy. She cleared her throat, suddenly realising that she'd shouted that in her normal voice. "I mean," she lowered her voice, "Wait! Let me help!"

Sonic paused and turned to face her. "Have you done stuff like this before?" he said in disbelief.

Amy smirked. "I do it all the time."

He stared at her for a second, before displaying his famous cocky grin. "Okay! Let's do this!"

.

The trio ran out of the park and into the town centre, where Eggman was threatening the citizens with his robots. They were twice the size of the heroes, and their huge, metallic bodies held up a grand total of four arms on either side. They stormed across the town, using their massive arms to destroy anything in their path. Sonic immediately spindashed several of them in a row, leaving them in ruins. Tails used his namesakes to propel him upwards as he distracted them to the best of his ability. Amy raced towards a robot, about to pull out her hammer. Then she stopped. If she used her hammer, she'd blow her cover, but she'd never tried fighting without it. She watched as the robot in front of her began to advance on her, its red eyes glowing. She gulped.

This wouldn't be easy.

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><p><strong> Dum dum dumm.. Hope you all enjoyed that ^_^ I'll try to update chapter 3 ASAP but unfortunately I've become badly stuck on what to write :( I'm sure I'll think of something, so just bear with me. And I really appreciate reviews. Thanks!<strong>


	3. It's A Deal

**Sorry the update took longer than expected but hey, I've done worse :) Thank you to _Lightning The Fox, Delta 2-1, RANDY _and _SilverDawn_ for your reviews.  
>Hope you enjoy chapter 3!<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**3 – It's A Deal**

Amy eyed the robot that was now too close to her for comfort. She held up her fists, hoping that her strength would be enough to help her. She took a deep breath, drew back her hand and slammed a punch into the robot's solid metal body. It did nothing. A bolt of pain shot up her arm and she let out a yell. She clutched her aching hand and cradled it gently, wincing with the pain. Suddenly Sonic was beside her.

"I thought you'd done this before," he said worriedly.

"I have," she insisted. "But... I'm used to holding a weapon."

Sonic looked around the floor and spotted a hard, metal rod from one of the fallen robots. He quickly picked it up and threw it to her. "How's that?" he asked.

"Perfect!" she grinned.

.

A newfound confidence surged through Amy's body as she clutched the rod tightly in her hand. This would be a cinch now. She swung it into the robot, and with a harsh, scraping sound it toppled backwards onto the floor. She quickly jumped on top of it and plunged the rod into its metal chest, repeatedly whacking it. "That's what you get when you go around trashing the city!" she shrieked.

Sonic and Tails had destroyed the rest of the robots, and they couldn't help but stare at her. Even Eggman looked as though he thought she was crazy. She gave the metal creature beneath her feet a final strike for good measure, and threw the rod behind her, smiling triumphantly.

.

With a growl of defeat and several empty threats, Eggman manoeuvred his hovercraft back into the sky, until he was out of sight. Amy sauntered up to her two cohorts, pushing her sunglasses up her nose. They were still watching her with cautious suspicion in their eyes, as if she was a wild animal about to attack. The awkwardness was surrounding her again. She tried to look confident, pausing as she decided what to say. "Did I or did I not kick ass," she said, sounding a lot more victorious than she now felt.

Tails took a fleeting glance back at the destroyed robot. "Erm... yeah," he said.

Sonic grinned at her, losing his uneasiness. "Not bad," he said. "Once you had a weapon in your hand you were pretty strong. But why can't you fight with your fists?"

.

Amy sighed. "I've never tried, so I'm out of practice. That's why I asked for your help, but since you _ignored_ it..." She trailed off, folding her arms again.

Sonic's head jerked as he suddenly stared in her. He watched her closely, as if scanning her.

"What?" said Amy, feeling edgy. She shifted anxiously.

Sonic straightened. "Nothing," he said, snapping out of his trance. "It's just the way you said that. It reminded me of something."

Amy blinked, surprised. She was sure for a moment there that he... No. He had no idea who she was. She barely had time to consider it properly as the sound of flapping wings could be heard above the trio. They glanced upwards, and Rouge swooped down to join them on the ground. The bat placed her hand on her hip, looking smug as always. It was that particular look that always meant that she'd just finished irritating Knuckles, as she loved to do. She observed the steaming wreckages of the robots, observing the damage done.

"Looks like I've been missing some action," she commented.

"You only missed Eggman getting his butt kicked," Sonic said, grinning. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

.

Rouge slowly turned away from the ruins, allowing her gaze to reach him, then Tails, and her eyebrows rose as she noticed Amy. She watched her for a moment. "Who's this?" she said finally.

"Oh, this is Andy. We met him earlier," Sonic replied.

Rouge was silent again as she regarded the pink hedgehog. "Oh, really?" she murmured quietly. "Nice to meet you... Andy."

For some reason Amy felt trapped under Rouge's constant gaze. She nodded, attempting to look nonchalant. Rouge eventually smiled, but it was proud rather than friendly.

"Where are you from, Andy?" she asked.

"Err... just around here. Mobius," said Amy quickly.

Rouge looked interested again as she heard Amy's low voice and she folded her arms. "Say, boys," she said smoothly, "Why don't you let me and Andy here have a little chat?"

.

Sonic and Tails looked at them both and turned around, walking in the opposite direction to give them some privacy. Rouge watched them go, and as soon as they were out of earshot, she turned back to face Amy again.

"I'm not just a pretty face," she said. "In fact, I'm probably smarter than those two put together. But I can't help feeling a little confused. Why are you pretending to be a guy?"

Amy felt herself redden. She couldn't believe Rouge had seen right through her disguise! "I don't know what you're talking about!" she exclaimed. "I _am _a guy."

.

Rouge smirked. "Amy. Surely you don't think I'll buy that?" she said. "I'm surprised that Sonic and Tails haven't found you out yet. Is it another one of your schemes to get Sonic?"

Amy frowned. "No," she said stubbornly. "I just... Well... Kind of. Was it really that obvious who I was?"

Rouge considered this. "Not to other people," she said. "But then I've got more sense than those two. And I used to work for the government so I'm trained to recognise that kind of thing." She glanced back at Sonic and Tails. "So, are you going to tell them who you really are? Or maybe _I_ should?"

"No!" Amy cried out in alarm. "No, Rouge, you can't!"

.

"I think you'll find I can," the bat replied, with a devious glint in her eye. "Unless of course you have a Chaos Emerald."

Amy's eyes narrowed as she realised what Rouge was trying to do. "No, I don't!" she snapped. "As if I would have any! And if I did I wouldn't give it to you!"

"Then I suppose I should tell them-"

"No! Don't!"

"You have a Chaos Emerald?"

Amy bit her lip, realising that it was a losing battle. Without a Chaos Emerald, she didn't have much to offer. Then she had an idea. "I'll get you and Knuckles together," she said. "If you help me act as a boy, I'll make sure of it that he asks you out."

Rouge looked surprised, but she regained her composure, forcing a laugh. "You think that a date with that Knucklehead is worth a Chaos Emerald? Ha! I'd rather date a blade of grass!" she said, crossing her arms again.

.

Now it was Amy's turn to smirk. "Oh, please. It's so obvious that you like him," she teased. "And you know what he's like; he'll take ages to ask you, so I can set it up for you!"

"I _don't_ want to be with him," Rouge insisted. She tilted her head up with defiance, but she eyed Amy curiously. "But out of interest, could you seriously do that?" she said slowly.

Amy's confidence boosted. "Of course! I'm a _boy_ now, remember?" She gestured to herself. "It's like an access pass. I can influence these sorts of things."

Rouge relaxed a little. "It would be fun to get him away from that big old rock of his," she admitted.

.

She indicated towards the spot where Sonic and Tails were standing, as Knuckles suddenly joined the scene, panting. He looked wildly around the area, quickly speaking to his two friends with a scowl on his face. His eyes fell upon Rouge and he let out a growl.

"Hey!" he bellowed. "You think you can just run away from me?"

Rouge let a sideways smile creep up her lips. "See what I mean?" she said. She looked Amy in the eye for a moment. "Alright," she said finally. "I'll play along for now. But only so I can see the look on Knuckles's face when…" She paused. "You do realise how I have to act if you're a guy, right?" she said cautiously.

.

Amy shook her head, before her eyes widened. "Oh! Oh, ew!" she cried. "Rouge! You can't flirt with me! That's weird! It's unnatural. Ugh, what would Sonic say? What would he think of me then?" she rambled.

"He'd think that you're a ladies' man," Rouge said. "And that's what you _want_ him to think otherwise this whole plan of yours will be useless."

Amy took in a deep breath. "You're right," she said. "Fine. Let's do this, but don't go over the top or I'll freak!"

Rouge let out a low, dangerous laugh. "Okay, Pinky. We'll see." Her smile widened as she noticed Knuckles watching her with 'Andy', and his brow furrowed even more. She sauntered back to the three heroes, with Amy somewhat nervously following.

.

Knuckles was still glaring as they approached the trio, and he observed Amy. She suddenly felt very small. Why did she get the sense that he was mad at her? Normally Amy would be defiant and demand what was the matter with him, but of course not only was he unaware of who she was, she also felt extremely awkward knowing that she had to act… _attracted_ to Rouge. She fought a shudder as she remembered that.

'_I have to do this_,' she thought. '_Ugh, it's painful, but… this is for Sonic. I'll do anything to make this work_.' She glanced at the pearly white bat, who looked confident, as always.

"Hi there, Knuckie," Rouge drawled. "I thought you said you'd had enough of me, but you followed me all the way out here?" She chuckled. "I guess what you really meant was that you couldn't _get_ enough."

.

The echidna blushed and clenched his fists. "I only followed you here to teach you a lesson!" he roared. "Stay away from the Master Emerald!"

Rouge tossed her head back and laughed. "I don't want your boring old rock. Besides, I have a new friend," she purred. She slipped her arm around Amy's waist, who stiffened. "This is Andy," said Rouge. "He's really quite the charmer."

All three of the males' mouths dropped open in shock. Knuckles turned his nose up in the air, trying to look disinterested. Sonic laughed at him, his gaze switching between the bat and the echidna. Tails just stared at Rouge and Amy in disbelief.

"Really?" he said in astonishment.

.

Sonic laughed again at Tails's shameless doubt that 'Andy' was a 'charmer'. "Didn't know you were such a ladies' man, Andy!" he said, biting his lip to fight off more laughter at Knuckles's expression.

Amy felt her face become heated but she slowly moved her arm around Rouge's shoulders. "Yeah, all the ladies love me," she said, forcing a grin. "It's hard to keep 'em back sometimes!"

Knuckles frowned. "Well it's not so hard to attract someone like Rouge," he muttered.

Rouge just laughed, but it sounded almost like a hiss through her teeth. "Don't be jealous, Knuckles. Just because you can't even attract a fly."

"Jealous?" he cried, fuming. "At least I'm not desperate!" He turned to Amy. "Believe me, I don't want anything to do with her," he spat.

.

With that, he stormed off, leaving the other four posed in an awkward silence.

"Don't worry about old Knucklehead," said Sonic, grinning at Amy in reassurance. "He's a hot-head but he's actually pretty soft when you get to know him."

Rouge smirked. "Pfft. Andy's not bothered. He's far too sophisticated for that," she purred.

"Yep. Sophisticated… That's me," said Amy, slightly uncomfortable.

Sonic chuckled, though he looked a little surprised. "I guess I'll let you two get back to… 'getting to know each other'," he snickered. "Tails, you can show me that other invention you told me about."

The fox nodded excitedly. "Yeah! Erm… nice to meet you, Andy," he said. He nodded at Rouge, before propelling his tails to lift him into the air, and he flew off in the direction of his workshop.

.

Sonic got ready to race after him. "Yeah, good to meet ya," he said, smiling at Amy. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime." He gave both girls a small wave. "Later, guys!" he called. He zoomed into the distance, leaving the two girls alone once more.

Amy and Rouge removed their arms from each other, and Amy took off her sunglasses, shaking her head.

"That… was awkward," she said.

Rouge folded her arms. "Honey, if you're gonna make up weird plans then you've got to do weird things," she said. "Besides, thanks to me, they think you're a lot more macho now."

"That'll make things easier," Amy admitted. She wasn't too happy accepting help from Rouge but she didn't have much choice. "What should I do now?"

Rouge pondered this for a moment. "You need to get into contact with the rest of your friends. As Andy, I mean. But not today," she said slowly. "You don't want to be too obvious. Just go home and rest, and tomorrow we can start some real action."

Amy nodded. "Right. Thanks, Rouge." She smiled at the bat. "I won't forget my end of the deal, either," she giggled. Before Rouge could argue against that remark, Amy waved at her and ran off back to her house, smiling excitedly the whole way.

* * *

><p><strong>I know you shouldn't like things in your own stories, but I can't help enjoying the part where Amy mentions the ignoring thing and Sonic stares at her... dum dum dumm... (tension music) :D There'll be more moments like that to come!<br>When will Sonic and the others discover Amy's abscene? All will be revealed. (well... some, not all)  
>Anyway, hope you liked it. Reviews are greatly appreciated. :)<strong>


	4. Absence

**So... thanks to _kid, SilverDawn2010, stained-theory, Skyelara, Delta 2-1 _and... '_I don't know who I am' _(lol even though you were sitting next to me in class :P) Your reviews made me smile! :) And here is chapter 4! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 - <strong>**Absence**

The sun was beginning to sink very slowly into the horizon as Amy made her way home. She'd wasted a significant amount of time just deciding which route to take, knowing that she couldn't take her ordinary path in case it looked suspicious to any of her friends that might be nearby. So she'd opted to go through the forest that eventually ended at her road, although it was a long walk. The sky was starting to morph into a dull blue at its highest point, but a bright orange still remained. The light of it was partially blocked by the trees that clogged the forest pathway, and Amy began to walk a little faster, not wanting to be left in the dark.

.

A light chill nipped at her arms as she paced through the woods but she ignored it, reflecting on her plan in its current stage. Although Rouge had discovered her identity straight away, it was merely a minor setback, Amy hoped. She'd fooled Knuckles, Tails, and most importantly, Sonic, so it was going fairly well. A flicker of excitement sparked inside of her as she contemplated her plan. As a boy, she could begin to gain Sonic's trust and get to know him as well as possible. He'd surely spend more time with her as Andy than he would when she was Amy, which saddened her a little but she knew it was the truth.

.

After what seemed like hours, she finally reached her home. She scanned her surroundings, making sure that nobody was around, and quickly ran into her house. She smiled in relief. She'd managed to last a whole day without having too much trouble, so the rest would be a cinch. Her only issue was how she was going to meet the rest of her friends, but then that was where Rouge came in. Overall, Amy thought, everything was according to her plan.

.

She turned to go into her kitchen, when a loud knock sounded from the door. She went to answer it and stopped herself, remembering that she couldn't. She stayed in that same spot, listening carefully. There was yet another series of impatient knocks that almost made a short rhythm. Amy froze. Who would knock so quickly like that?

.

Then came the voice from the other side of the door. It was masculine; slightly deep but soft at the same time.

"Amy? You home?"

Sonic! He was here! He was actually here, knocking on her door! Amy bit her lip. A surge of anticipation rushed through her body and she had to suppress the urge to run to her door and tear it open. She was still partly shocked that Sonic was visiting her. What was he doing there, anyway? Making her decision, she raced upstairs into her room and over to the window. She cautiously peeped through a crack in the curtains, spying on the handsome hedgehog outside her door.

.

He was standing on her doorstep, one foot tapping impatiently. "Amy?" he called again. He looked through the peep hole in the door, seemingly becoming more anxious as nobody answered. "Amy!"

Amy scrunched up her fists, her nails biting into her gloved palms. It was starting to become increasingly difficult not to answer the door. She huffed crossly to herself. The one time that Sonic came to her house and she couldn't answer him!

.

Sonic waited a little longer, and he looked up at the first floor windows. Amy jumped away from the glass pane, moving hastily behind the curtains. She held her breath, as if she was afraid he'd hear it. She remained still for a while, before gradually peering through the window again. Sonic was starting a look a little worried and Amy felt a hand of guilt tug at her heart. She longed to call out to him, to wave, to do _something_ other than just stand there watching him!

'_Oh God, this is killing me_,' she thought, exasperated. '_This is so unfair!_'

It was irritating, to say the least, that she'd spent years of her life chasing after the blue hero; waiting, praying, wishing for him to sweep her off her feet, and only when she _couldn't_ answer him, he turned up on her doorstep!

Did the world love to punish her?

So much of her time had been taken up by her attempts to get his attention, and now – in some ways – she finally had it. And yet she couldn't accept it. Instead she was sentenced to _watching _him call for her, unable to respond to him for fear of ruining her plans completely.

.

It then occurred to Amy that Sonic hadn't seen the note she'd stuck to her front door. After she'd written the letter to her friends explaining her absence, she'd definitely taped it there. She leaned as close to the window as she dared, looking down at her doorstep, and grimaced. The note was lying face down in the grass beneath the door. Amy cursed under her breath. It must have fallen when she closed it earlier.

.

To her relief, it was at that moment that Sonic finally noticed it and picked it up, observing it curiously. He turned it upright and began to scan the words on the page, and Amy felt a wave of butterflies in her stomach as she awaited his reaction. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated on the note. He held it closer, looking more and more confused as he read on. Amy gripped the curtains that shielded her from his view and winced. Sonic's eyes widened and he paused, seeming to read the note over and over again. It was as if the small letter was written in another language; he looked so bemused.

.

He finally lowered his hand in silence. His expression was wrought with confusion, shock, and most surprisingly, worry. Sonic clenched the hand that held the note, making it crumple and scrunch together. He stared into nothingness, looking almost lost. Amy swallowed the lump in her throat as she gazed at him through the window, which - as the afternoon drifted into early evening - was beginning to mist over, encouraged by her warm breath. She pressed her hand against the glass, anxiously awaiting his next move. He continued to stare into the distance for a moment, before snapping back into reality. His eyes hardened in decision, and with a face set like flint, he shot into the distance, leaving a fading blue streak behind him.

.

Amy let out a broken sigh. Her eyes were wide as she sank to her knees so that she was level with the misty window. It took a while to sink in that Sonic had been calling for her, and his reaction to her note was… shock. She'd never seen him look so confused or troubled in all the time that she'd known him. He'd seemed genuinely bothered by her absence, as well as her rather feeble excuse.

.

Surely, with the way he'd acted… Did he maybe care for her, as more than a friend? A flood of hope coursed through her veins at the prospect. The very idea of it made her giddy with excitement. A voice in the back of her mind warned her not to get ahead of herself but sometimes it was just too hard not to. Sonic was often a little uncomfortable around her but there _were_ signs of compassion in him from time to time. But then… they were only _friends_. That was to some extent why she was doing this crazy plan in the first place. And whether he cared about her like that or not, what did he think of her written excuse?

.

It was true that Amy Rose would probably never just up and leave like that. The only question was, did Sonic know that? Amy couldn't be sure. She _did_ know, however, that her seemingly random disappearance would no doubt stir up a significant amount of suspicion from her closer friends. After all, she was sure they knew that she'd never leave without a good explanation. 'Clearing her head' didn't count as a good explanation, as far as she was concerned. Sonic had been known for rushing off whenever he pleased and leaving similar excuses of 'needing time to think', which angered Amy to no end. She didn't accept his excuses, which meant that she was always wondering what was really bothering him. She couldn't help feeling a glimmer of hope that he might be wondering the same thing about her, but she swallowed it down. There was no use thinking like that now.

.

It was just difficult when the one she cared about seemed so distant to her because he closed off his thoughts. Sonic was accustomed to isolating himself with the wind whenever personal problems arose for him; it would be weird for him to let down his shields. Amy mourned over this as she changed into her pyjamas, welcoming an early night. Hopefully, 'Andy' would learn all the quirks of Sonic the Hedgehog. With her new identity, she could learn what he loved and loathed, what made him tick, what made him laugh, what he liked to talk about, everything! She let a smile creep up her muzzle as she snuggled into the covers of her bed. There was no use in worrying. She'd just have to wait until the next morning to see how things would turn out.

.***

"I almost forgot that you looked like that," Rouge commented. The ivory bat turned fully to face Amy as the hedgehog left her house. Rouge's dark eyelashes framed her turquoise orbs that were flashing with mischief. She observed the hedgehog, once again taking in her outfit. She smirked. "I've gotta admit, you do look like one of the guys," she said, sounding almost impressed.

Amy smiled proudly, tilting up her chin. "Of course I do. That's exactly why my plan will be a success!"

"With _my_ help, Pinky," added Rouge. She placed a hand on her hip. "If it wasn't for me, you'd still be stumbling around like a lost sheep."

.

Amy sent her an indignant glare. "Hey! I can manage just fine on my own, thank you very much! The only reason I'm even letting you help me is because if I don't you'll blab!" she snapped. Then her annoyed demeanour disappeared and she smirked. "But of course you want _me_ to help _you_ get Knuckles!" she giggled, clasping her hands together. She leaned towards the bat, batting her eyelashes with a cheeky grin on her face.

Rouge folded her arms across her chest defensively. "Like I said: I'm only in it to get him away from the Master Emerald. Besides, it would give me better chances of snatching it while his guard's down," she said.

"_Sure_," Amy teased. Before her ally could argue again, she waved a hand, dismissing the subject. "Anyway, what's the next step?" she said. "Sonic isn't really close enough to me to be comfortable yet."

.

Rouge thought for a moment. "Isn't it obvious?" she said, each word rolling off her tongue. "We need to pretend that 'Andy' and I are close friends. That way, I can get you to meet the rest of the gang without suspicion. You only need to meet Cream and Cheese, right?"

Amy nodded slowly. "Right. But we can't just turn up at the door step," she pointed out.

Rouge was unfazed. "I saw Cream at Tails's workshop on my way over here. We'll drop in, pay them a little visit and we're all set," she said smugly.

"But we have no reason to be at Tails's workshop. You never visit him and, technically, he doesn't even know me."

Rouge shrugged. "I'll think of something, easy."

Amy grinned, her eyes shining with the excitement. "Then let's do it!"

* * *

><p><strong>So Sonic has finally found Amy's note..What does he think about her absence, and what about when the rest of her friends find out? :) I just wanted to quickly say that I re-read my reviews and I'm really grateful for everyone that tells me what they think. It really helps me out. So thanks, guys. Please review!<strong>


	5. Day Two

**Ugh, sorry it took so long, but I got really stuck because I have SO many ideas for this story and it's kinda complicated seeing as there are quite a few little plots all sewn into one story. It's the first story that I've ever tried that's this confusing, but you guys don't know what I mean just yet... there's more to go ;)  
>Thank you to <em>Skyelara, TailsDoll82, Lightning the fox, XoxoSonamy4440oxoX, BlueyO, SilverDawn2010 <em>and _Agent Yates_ for you reviews!  
>And I'm sorry this chapter is kinda short... I kinda feel like it's not as good as the others... hope you guys aren't let down :**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5 <strong>**– Day Two**

Amy pushed her sunglasses higher up on her nose, nodding a greeting at Tails. He smiled at her and Rouge, and opened the door to his workshop wider so that they could enter. Rouge sauntered in, oozing in her typical sultry confidence. Amy followed suit, putting her hands in her pockets and trying to look nonchalant.

"Hey there, fox boy," Rouge purred.

Tails closed the door behind them. "Hi, Rouge. Is there something you wanted?" he asked, a little awkward.

Rouge's teal orbs scanned the room, passing over several scraps of machines before resting on a small device in the corner. "Just paying you a little visit, foxy. But a little birdie told me that you've got a new invention. What is it?" she asked, gesturing to the gadget she'd seen.

.

Tails beamed at somebody taking an interest in his work, and picked it up, holding it for Rouge to see. "I haven't thought of a name for it yet but it's basically a device that can scan any plant, tell you what it is and how to care for it. And you can even use it to detect plants from far away!" The fox smiled. "I made it a few days ago, but it's not for me. I made it for-" He paused, blushing profusely. His tails began to swish in his bashfulness and he looked down sheepishly.

Rouge raised her eyebrows in interest. "Who is it for? You've gone pretty red, Tails." Then she smirked. "Oh, I get it. It's for that green gal Cosmo, isn't it?"

Tails let out a nervous chuckle, his cheeks flaming. "I just thought it would be useful to her," he admitted quietly.

.

Amy grinned. "That's so cute!" she shrieked excitedly. Then she noticed Tails's bewildered stare and Rouge's frown, and she swallowed. "Urr… I mean, good for you, man. Is this Cosmo cute?" She felt herself relax a little, relieved that she hadn't just blown everything.

Tails blushed even more and muttered an inaudible answer to her question beneath his breath, his ears folded backwards. "She's just a friend," he said.

.

At that moment, the girl in question entered the room with Cream and Cheese in tow. Tails whipped round to face her, quickly hiding the invention behind his back. Her blue eyes focused on him and she smiled.

"Tails," she said. "Cream found the flowers she wanted for her mom's bouquet but we were wondering what this one was called…" Her voice trailed off as she noticed Rouge and Amy, and she paused. "Oh, I'm sorry. I hope I'm not interrupting something," she said quickly.

Tails shook his head vigorously. "No, no. I-I'll introduce you." He stepped aside, allowing the seedarian to come forward along with the rabbit and chao. He cleared his throat, praying that his blush had faded. "This is Andy. Me and Sonic met him yesterday at the park. Andy, these are my friends Cream and Cosmo."

.

Rouge raised an eyebrow once again in amusement, glancing between Cosmo and Tails, smirking at Tails in particular. He caught her stare and his ears flattened as she leaned closer to him to whisper in his ear. "Gee, fox boy, for two friends you and Cosmo sure do hang out a lot."

Tails felt his cheeks redden again. "She just came to help Cream pick out some flowers for Mother's Day," he insisted.

"And you had these exotic flowers in your backyard because?"

"For research!"

"Which was for your little present for Cosmo," Rouge finished triumphantly. "Well aren't you a little cutie?"

Tails let his gaze fall to his sneakers, trying to pretend that Rouge wasn't there.

.

Cosmo shook Amy's hand, smiling politely. "Hello," she greeted.

Cream did the same. "It's very nice to meet you."

Amy smiled back at them, distantly mulling over how strange it was to meet her friends twice. She couldn't help but feel an enormous sense of relief that they didn't recognise her, as well as faint surprise that the first part of her scheme was over and done with. Rouge was the only person who'd seen through her façade, but then perhaps she was overly observant. Either way, Amy was just pleased that her plan was going well. She turned to Cheese, whose gaze was flitting between the people in the room, his little face drawn into a bewildered pout.

"Chao!" he cried, pointing his stubby paw at Amy.

They stared at him in surprise.

"Cheese," said Cream. "This is Andy. Weren't you listening?"

.

The little chao scowled in frustration, pointing again at Amy. "Chao chao chao!" he squeaked. He fluttered beside the pink hedgehog, waving at her frantically.

Amy leaned back from him, feeling a little worried. Obviously she couldn't understand what the chao was saying but she knew that he was trying to tell her friends something about her. And that couldn't be good.

Cream bit her lip in confusion. "I don't understand," she said. "Cheese is acting like he recognises you, Andy."

Amy shook her head in alarm. She tried to force a laugh. "I've never seen him in my life."

.

At that statement, Cheese seemingly became even more aggravated and he shrieked louder. Amy sent him a pleading look, half wondering if he could even see her eyes through her sunglasses. She was praying desperately that he would stop before someone found her out. Luckily, Cream stepped forward, taking the chao in her arms.

"I'm very sorry about Cheese's behaviour," she said, glancing at him sternly. She looked up and sent an apologetic look to Amy. "He's never usually like this. He just thought that he knew you, I think."

.

Amy felt her thumping heart slow down and she put on a smile, clearing her throat. "That's okay. Poor little guy's confused," she said, shrugging.

Cheese fumed and tried to cry out again but Cream shushed him, hurriedly taking him out of the room. The remaining friends watched them as they left, an awkward silence befalling around them.

"That was weird," commented Tails. The others nodded. He shifted his weight between his feet, occasionally daring to look up at Cosmo. She caught his eye and smiled, remembering her business in the room.

"So, do you think you could find out which flower this is?" she asked, pulling out a long green stem with a tightly closed violet bud behind her back. The firm petals were gathered together as if sheltering the seeds underneath. She handed it to Tails, who blushed as their hands brushed in the transfer.

.

He reached back for his new invention, ignoring Rouge's knowing smirk. "I have this," he said nervously. "It's a new invention I made. It can tell us exactly what plant it is."

Cosmo observed it with interest as Tails placed the delicate flower onto the little scanner. A green light emitted from the device before a mass of information appeared on screen.

It read: '_Latious Flamoures. A small, violet flower that is uncommonly found in Mobius._'

The information continued with details of almost everything related to that flower, and Cosmo eyed it in amazement.

.

"Wow, Tails!" she exclaimed. "It has everything on here! Did you make this?" Her eyes shone.

Tails chuckled bashfully, his namesakes swishing behind him. "Yeah. I worked really hard on it."

Rouge piped up, a mischievous smile on her lips. "And who did you work on it for, Tails?"

Tails flushed once again. "I-I… urm…"

Cosmo looked at him in surprise, obviously not understanding what Rouge meant.

"I sorta made this… for you, Cosmo," he admitted. "I just thought that you'd find it helpful since you love plants to much."

Cosmo's eyes widened and she beamed at him. "Oh, Tails. It's lovely, thank you. It's really sweet of you, but you didn't have to go to all this effort just for me," she breathed. Her blue orbs were sparkling as she regarded the blushing fox.

.

"I wanted to," he smiled. "I'm just glad you like it."

Cosmo held the gift to her heart, smiling. "Thank you," she said again. Then she straightened, a light raspberry tinge on her own cheeks. "I'd better check on Cream." With that last statement, she hurried out of the room, a small smile gracing her features as she left.

.

It was taking all of Amy's strength to hold back a girlish outburst but she couldn't risk it after her previous gush of excitement. She fought back the urge, grinning like an idiot. It was very refreshing to see some romance around her, seeing as her own wasn't taking off anytime soon. She ignored the sting of that thought. At least her experience as a so-called boy would hopefully change that.

Rouge folded her arms. "That wasn't so hard now was it, fox boy?" she said.

Amy couldn't resist a chuckle at that. Tails said nothing but had to turn away to hide his timid smile.

.

The three friends went to join Cosmo and Cream in the garden, but paused as a loud knock resounded from the workshop door. It sounded almost impatient; too similar to the one Amy had heard last night. She swallowed, watching as Tails went to answer the door and Rouge dragged her to the garden. She would've protested had she not been so anxious that her mind went blank. So she found herself numbly helping Cream pick out flowers, her mind stuck on one thought. Sonic.

.

Was he telling Tails about the note, about her disappearance? What would everyone think? Her stomach suddenly felt rather queasy and she bit her lip, glad for the little protection that her sunglasses gave her. They shielded her thoughts and allowed her true emotions to be concealed, or at least she hoped. She kept glancing at the door back into the workshop, half hoping and half dreading seeing a blue figure appear there. She strained her ears, poised for the sound of his masculine voice to reach her ears. All that could be heard was a gentle breeze carrying the voices of her female friends who continued to gush over flowers.

.

Eventually she was able to block out her thoughts, to a point where she was in state of mental paralysis. She started a conversation with Cream, forcing herself to respond and _not_ to think about _anyone_ else.

But then she heard him. Her leapt in her chest. Oh, she _knew_ it! She listened carefully, trying desperately to pick up the soft sound of his voice. She could just about make out some of his conversation with Tails.

"… yesterday… No, I doubt it," he was saying. "I don't know. Don't you think it's kinda weird? It just doesn't feel right."

.

Amy whipped her head round to try and see the hedgehog and the fox but she could barely distinguish them from behind the reflective glass of the doors. She had a sinking feeling that she knew what they were talking about. She felt a hand enclose around her arm as Rouge held her still.

"Forget about it. It's not important right now," she hissed into Amy's ear. She'd obviously noticed Sonic's presence as well.

Amy ignored the other girl, still listening intently to Sonic and Tails, but they'd seemingly finished their talk, as Tails joined the others outside. A slightly concerned frown set on his features, he approached Cream and Cosmo. Amy took this as her cue to jump to her feet, hardly trying to look casual as she hurried back inside, praying that Sonic was still there.

.

"Hey, did you two hear from Amy recently?" Tails asked the girls in front of him. "I mean in the past few days."

Cream and Cosmo looked at each other, confused, and shook their heads.

"No," said Cosmo. "Now that I come to think of it, I haven't seen her in about five days."

"Me neither," added Cream, her dark brown eyes now widening as they adopted a worried look. "Do you suppose she's in trouble?"

Tails shook his head. "No, I'm pretty sure she's safe. You see…" he paused, glancing back at the workshop, before deciding to continue. "It's a little hard to explain."

* * *

><p><strong>In case you're wondering, that flower name is 100% not real :P I even checked on google, haha! It just came to me, but it's not important so never mind.. Hopefully you enjoyed that. I know it was short but I'm still struggling a bit with this part in the story. Like I said before, it isn't planned so I can't say how exactly it will work out.<br>Please review! I kinda need feeback with this chapter...**


	6. Big Shot

**Oh, gosh. I really can't apologise enough for the long wait. Long story short, I was very busy. But I'm really sorry it took so long. And thankfully I'm now more sure of how everything is going to work out from now on, and I have 3 weeks left of the summer holidays so hopefully no more delays...  
>Thanks to <em>Skyelara, SilverDawn2010, FiberJar, LuvyRosy, Ziggy7332, Moley Fox <em>and _awsomeman13. _And thanks to everyone who hasn't given up on this story. (Don't worry, neither have I) ^_^  
>So... you might want to read the last few lines of chapter 5 for a recap, but that's up to you of course. Anyway, enjoy! :)<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>** – Big Shot**

Amy walked through the workshop and peered into Tails's living room, feeling her heart skip a beat when she saw the blue hero sitting on the couch, deep in thought. He was slumped into the cushions, his chin resting on his closed fist as he stared out through the window. He was so lost in own world that he didn't notice Amy arrive silently behind him, watching him for a moment. Just seeing him reminded her of how good-looking he really was. She'd seen him so many times but every time she did he took her breath away. And yet, a slightly troubled frown pulled at his lips.

.

She opened her mouth to speak and paused, trying to summon the right words. Eventually, she spoke. "Something wrong?" she asked softly.

Sonic jumped, slipping back out of his trance and craning his head back to face her. He smiled half-heartedly. "Oh, hey, Andy," he said. "What are you doing here?"

Amy smiled nervously. She folded her arms, as she'd gained quite a habit of doing that whenever she was 'in character', but her casual pretence was without much enthusiasm. "I was hanging with Rouge and she wanted to see Tails for something," she replied. "But you didn't answer my question."

.

Sonic turned away, looking back through the window again. "It's nothing," he said. "I'm fine."

Amy moved towards the couch and sat beside him, and he met her eyes again. Inside, she was worrying like crazy, wondering why he seemed bothered and whether it linked at all to her absence. She wanted to push him to tell her but then it would make her seem suspicious. After all, Sonic didn't really know Andy. She settled for a response that sounded less obvious. "It doesn't seem like nothing," she said.

.

A small fleck of surprise crossed through his lime green orbs but he shrugged. "What makes you think there's something wrong?" he asked.

Amy bit her lip. How to answer that one? She mirrored his shrug, fiddling with the bill of her baseball cap. "Just askin'," she said slowly. "You look like you've got something on your mind. Sometimes it helps to tell somebody you don't know that well. It's like… closure," she added, gesturing with her hands. "And you know, talking to people is the best way of venting your feelings."

Sonic raised an eyebrow, but he let out a short laugh. "That sounds like something one of my friends would say," he smiled. Then he looked down again, his brow furrowing.

.

Amy found herself wondering whether he was referring to her. She stared at him, mentally questioning it. Perhaps he knew her more than she thought…

Suddenly, Sonic leapt to his feet. "Anyway, nice talking to ya, Andy, but I gotta run!"

Before she could protest he was gone in a burst of blue, making her quills blow into her eyes. She scowled, clenching her fists. The whole point of this plan was make Sonic feel more comfortable around her, not _less_! She heaved a sigh, trudging back into the garden to join the others.

.

She made a beeline for Rouge, too frustrated to bother faking nonchalance. She dropped to her knees beside the bat, who was surprisingly helping Cream and Cosmo pick out flowers while Tails was babbling about something; Amy didn't bother finding out what. It was a bit odd to see Rouge doing something to genuinely help others, but she seemed content doing it. Amy barely registered this in her annoyance, but she faintly wondered if there was more to the materialistic bat than met the eye.

.

"Rouge!" she hissed to the bat.

Rouge looked up at her, noticing her look of irritation and rose to her feet, immediately understanding that they needed to talk. She ushered Amy further down the garden, out of earshot. Once they stopped, Amy yanked off her sunglasses. "Sonic's no closer to me than he was before!" she wailed, flailing her arms around crossly.

Rouge grabbed Amy's arms and pulled them back down. "Yeah, and if you keep acting like that he won't even come near you at all!" she growled. "Put your sunglasses back on."

.

Amy felt her anger rising at being ordered around by Rouge but she obeyed, remembering her deal with the bat.

"And anyway, you've got bigger problems," said Rouge. "Your friends are suspicious about your little note. You said you were '_clearing your head_'? Pinky, couldn't you think of anything better?" she demanded.

Amy huffed, ignoring the nickname, and said, "What else was there to say? That was all I could think of!"

.

Rouge shook her head. "Oh boy, we have work to do," she muttered. "They're all talking about how weird it is that you'd just leave like that. Tails said that-"

"What about Sonic?" Amy interjected. "What did he say?"

Rouge put her hands on her hips. "Girl, you seriously have Sonic on the brain. Too much," she added.

"Ooh never mind _that_!" Amy cried. "Just what did he say?"

"I don't know; I didn't talk to him. All Tails said was that Sonic found the note and showed it to him, and then Tails just asked us if we'd seen you and what we thought about it."

"Oh," said Amy, looking down. "But I heard him talking to Sonic! And Sonic was saying that it didn't feel right. Do you… do you think he…" She broke off, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

.

Rouge's eyes held a sudden light of understanding and she sent Amy a smile. It wasn't a smirk, nor an arrogant grin, but a genuine, reassuring smile. "I'm sure he's thinking about you," she said.

Amy smiled back, feeling a sense of friendship for the bat, though they'd never really talked like this before. She'd never known that Rouge could be sensitive; she always seemed so wrapped up in pushing everyone's buttons. Then the connection was gone, as Rouge pasted on her proud expression once more.

.

"So… Sonic isn't warming up to the new you, hmm?" she said. She looked thoughtful, and Amy could practically see her mind conjuring a new scheme. "Looks like we'll have to resort to stronger methods," she purred, her lips forming a curved smile.

Amy mentally winced. Somehow she knew that these 'stronger methods' weren't going to be very easy.

Amy pulled the bill of her baseball cap lower, trying to hide her face from passers-by. She was overly conscious of whether or not her face was flushed, as she felt more than uncomfortable about what she was going to do. _'Oh, I cannot believe I'm doing this!_' she thought to herself. _'It's insane! But… I've got to. For Sonic. I can do it.' _She bit her lip, crossing and uncrossing her arms for the hundredth time.

.

Her gaze moved through the forest, pausing occasionally as she tried to look casual whenever a member of the public would pass. A small gust of wind caught her attention as her winged ally swooped down to meet her. Rouge landed gracefully on her feet, smiling proudly.

"Found him," she announced.

Amy couldn't conjure a smile so she settled for nodding silently. Rouge picked up on her attitude immediately and raised her eyebrows.

"Listen, Pinky," she said, "You started this crazy scheme, not me. Besides, think of it as acting. You never know, it could be… fun," she added with a scheming smirk.

.

Amy held back several responses to that remark and sighed before forcing herself to brighten up. This was going to be worth it.

Just imagine it, she told herself. Just imagine what it will be like when this is over and you'll know Sonic like the back of your hand.

Finally, a genuine smile came to her lips and she straightened. "Well, what are we waiting for? Where is he?" she asked.

Rouge sent her a secretive smile. "Oh, somewhere in that direction," she said, gesturing vaguely with her hands. "Let's go." And with that, she began to saunter down one of the pathways that lead into the trees.

.

After a moment's hesitation, Amy hurried after her before shifting into her new swagger. She held her head upright and tried very hard not to turn to the sides, seeing as Sonic would probably be there. In her peripheral vision she was just waiting for a hint of blue against the forest greens, but none came. Surely she'd see him soon? It couldn't be much longer now…

.

Rouge quickly slipped her arm around Amy's shoulders and the pink hedgehog came to attention. She moved her own arm around Rouge's waist, as they'd practiced.

'_Remember, I am a _guy_. I'm a hunky guy!_' she thought, giggling quietly to herself at the concept. She watched the trees again, waiting for the slightest hint of blue but instead saw… red?

Knuckles was there, lounging in the grass with his eyes shut, but they opened slightly as the girls approached him.

"Rouge!" hissed Amy quietly. "What's Knuckles doing here? I thought you'd found Sonic!"

"I did," was the reply. "But what with Knucklehead here I thought you wouldn't mind taking a little detour."

.

Amy suddenly understood. "You want me to make him jealous?" she whispered, grinning. Rouge narrowed her eyes but Amy was sure her cheeks had turned pink.

"It's just a bit of fun," Rouge insisted.

Amy rolled her eyes but swiftly got into character. At least it would be practice before they reached Sonic, she reasoned. Knuckles was watching them now and a frown was appearing on his face. Amy pretended to notice him just as she and Rouge were passing him. They stopped and moved back so that they were right in front of him.

.

"Oh, hey, it's Knuckles," Amy said in her deep voice.

"Well, hello there, Knuckie," purred Rouge. "Me and Andy were just taking a little stroll through the woods, you know, _together_." A smirk curved up her lips as Knuckles clenched his fists.

"Oh, how nice for you," he said sarcastically.

"Yes, it is nice," Rouge said, acting as if she hadn't noticed his annoyance. "It's very nice to have a real man around here." With that statement, she moved her arms around Amy's neck and gazed dramatically into her eyes.

Amy ignored how weird that felt and put on a cocky grin. "Yeah, well, you know, I am pretty muscly and stuff."

.

Knuckles sat up straight. "Is that so?" He grunted. "Well at least you won't be annoying me anymore," he said to Rouge.

The bat smirked again. "Why bother when I have Andy to hang with? Besides, he's much more handsome."

Amy felt her cheeks redden but she continued to grin. "You know it," she said coolly.

"Are you trying to make me jealous?" Knuckles scoffed.

"Oh, please," Rouge retorted. "You wish I was. And it isn't that hard to find someone with better looks than you."

"Oh yeah?" Knuckles growled.

"Yeah. Not to mention there are plenty of guys that are stronger than you. Like Andy, here. He's _very_ strong," Rouge said, running her hands over Amy's slim and muscle-less arms. She eyed Knuckles. "He could beat you in a fight any day, Knucklehead."

.

Knuckles jumped to his feet. "Alright, then let's test that, shall we? Put 'em up, tough guy!" he roared.

Amy froze. The grin fell from her face. "Wait… what?" she cried. Then to Rouge she whispered, "What are you doing? I can't fight him!"

"Just keep it cool," Rouge replied. "Now, now, that's no way to treat a new friend," she said to Knuckles. He scowled at her.

"This isn't your business anymore, bat girl!" he snapped. "Come on, big shot, fight me!"

.

Amy swallowed, feeling her stomach do somersaults. Knuckles would never hit a girl, but she was a boy now, and she couldn't even use her hammer to defend herself. She eyed his huge gloved fists that she'd seen break through walls.

"Bring it on," she said feebly.

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><p><strong>Ooh, it's bust-up time! ;) More of that in the next chapter (which I will do ASAP).<br>Hope you liked it! Reviews are really appreciated. :)**


	7. Who's the Man?

**At least I was quicker this time :) I think this chapter is a teensy bit longer but I think it's better than the last one. A big thanks to _Lightning Eyes, awsomeman13, BlueyO (_sorry to keep you waiting ^^'), _Zebra, Skyelara, LuvyRosy, supergirl _and _redshadow29 _for your reviews. I can't tell you how glad I am that you take the time to let me know what you think about my writing :)  
>Anyways, on with the chapter. I hope you like it!<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 7 <strong>**– Who's the Man?**

Knuckles got into his fighting stance, holding his fists ready. Andy had accepted his challenge. He raised a fist, and with a battle roar he plunged it towards Andy's face.

.

Amy's mind was racing with wild and panicked thoughts.

'_Get out of the way,_' she told herself desperately. '_You can't fight him so get out of the way!_'

Finally her body caught up with her mind and she threw herself to the side, narrowly missing Knuckles's clenched hand. He wasn't expecting her to move so soon and he staggered slightly, before turning round to strike again. This was so typical of Knuckles, Amy thought, frustrated. He just had to turn everything into a fight, didn't he?

.

"Come on now, Knuckles. Big boys don't fight," said Rouge in her soft and sugary voice that she used to win him over. She stepped towards the fuming echidna but his angry eyes were shielded, resistant to her charm.

"Yeah, well if your precious Andy is so strong and brave then he won't have any problems, will he?" Knuckles retorted, smashing his fists together aggressively. Without wasting another second, he ran at Amy again and she could practically see his strength building up, ready to be released.

Her eyes flitted to Rouge, who was making punching motions and mouthing to her, "_Hit him, hit him_."

.

Amy just shook her head at the bat. She needed her hammer to attack properly, but without it she was stuck. As Knuckles reached her, her adrenaline peaked and she dived out of the way once more, desperately trying to look tough.

"Aren't you even going to try and fight me?" Knuckles shouted.

"I'm just warming up!" Amy cried, thinking of Sonic and his quick remarks. She backed away from him, and he moved forward, keeping a constant distance between them. "You know… dude… fighting makes you lose brain cells!" she called anxiously. "Not that you had many in the first place-"

"Shut up!" Knuckles yelled.

.

"Chill, bro! Let's just settle this over a-" Amy couldn't even finish her sentence as Knuckles swung a punch at her and she narrowly avoided it. She staggered backwards, thankfully finding a tree behind her for support.

'_He is so dead when all this is over_,' she thought angrily.

Just at that moment, a flash of blue indicated that Sonic had arrived and Amy winced. She couldn't stop herself from turning around to see him pause beside Rouge, watching the fight in surprise.

.

"Knucklehead's started a fight again?" Sonic asked Rouge.

"Mm-hm. Nothing unusual there," she said, folding her arms as Amy just managed to dodge another one of Knuckles's blows. "Andy's doing well," she added, remembering the whole purpose of this. "He's giving Knuckles a run for his money."

Sonic looked past her for a moment to observe the fight, watching Knuckles's hits getting closer to his rival's face every time he tried. "Are you sure?" he said. "It looks like he's struggling. I think it's time to step in-"

"No," said Rouge. "No, Andy can handle it. He's the strongest guy I know. Trust me. And by the way, how's Tails's little thing with Cosmo?" she asked, buying time.

.

Meanwhile, Amy was running out of breath. She was sure she'd felt the edge of Knuckles's fist brush her ear the last time she'd dodged him. She leaned against the tree again, and suddenly she knew what to do. She stayed in front of it as Knuckles moved towards her, ready to jump. She was trying very hard not to move until the last minute, battling off the urge to flinch away too early. "You're going down," she muttered under her breath as he reached her. She leaped away from him and he did exactly what she hoped would happen.

He went headfirst into the tree, but she hadn't considered the aftermath.

.

The sheer force of his lunge had a huge impact on the tree, and a loud cracking could be heard from inside it. Amy could feel Sonic and Rouge now watching as well, wide-eyed, as the trunk sprouted a huge, gaping crack that ran across the entire body of wood. It spread further, and the leaves at the top of the tree quivered as the whole thing began to slowly tilt backwards. With a painful groan, the trunk broke completely and the tree crashed into the ground below, making it shake. Panicked birds left the other trees, screeching loudly. Then there was silence.

.

Amy stared at Knuckles, who was amazingly conscious and wincing as he rubbed his head crossly. She suddenly felt guilty; she'd never hurt him that badly before. "Oh my gosh, Knuckles, I didn't hurt you that much, did I? Are you alright?" she cried, bending down to examine him. Then she remembered her role, and hastily stood up. "I mean… Suck it up, dude!" she shouted. She nervously looked at Sonic and Rouge to see their reaction and quickly spat on the ground to finish her performance.

.

Sonic stared at her. His gazed moved slowly down to Knuckles, then back up to her. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. He tried to speak but couldn't stop himself from hooting with laughter. "Aw, man," he breathed, in between chuckles. "He got you good, Knuckles!"

Knuckles glared at him, slowly getting to his feet. "Shut up, Sonic," he growled through clenched teeth.

Amy smiled in relief. "Who's the man?" she said proudly.

.

This made Sonic laugh harder. He doubled over, clutching his sides and breathing deeply. When he finally calmed down, he patted Amy's shoulder, grinning. "You're the man, buddy," he laughed. A few more snickers escaped his lips. "Aw, that's hilarious," he said to himself quietly, wiping his eyes. "'_Suck it up'_… ha-ha… I'm not gonna forget that one."

Knuckles stormed off, muttering furiously under his breath. Rouge watched him leave and pursed her lips.

"I'll catch you later 'boys', I've got places to be," she said coolly, and her wings swiftly opened. She soared into the sky and out of sight, but both hedgehogs knew where she'd gone.

.

Amy turned to Sonic and smiled. This was her chance, she decided. She needed to move her plan into the next stage. "So… Sonic, bro, do you wanna… hang out and catch some rays or whatever else us guys do?" she asked, showing him her 'boyish' grin. Sonic hesitated, and Amy held her breath.

"Sure, 'homie'," he laughed. "I've got nothing else to do."

He'd agreed. Amy was surprised at how easy that was. '_I just got Sonic to spend time with me!' _she thought excitedly.'_Just like that! Being a guy really is like having an access pass!'_

.

Suddenly she felt shy. "Erm… so what should we do… man?"

Sonic shrugged and started walking out of the woods. Amy stood still for a moment, feeling very new to actually spending time with Sonic. He wasn't leaving already, was he?

"You coming?" he called.

"Oh, right! Yeah!" she replied, trying to look as cool as possible while swaggering over to him.

Sonic eyed her walk and shook his head, chuckling.

"What?" she demanded, feeling self-conscious.

"It's just your walk," he grinned.

"Oh… yeah, well, you've gotta keep up the cool, ya know?"

"Yeah," Sonic laughed again.

.

Amy beamed as they walked together, realising just how easy it was to be around Sonic. '_Now if only he'd find it so easy with the real me…_' She shook away the thought. Her gaze followed her trainers as she walked, the soles scuffing the dirt with each step. She focused intently on the tiny dirt clouds that rose from the ground whenever her shoe came into contact with it.

.

She was just tuning out of reality when she became aware of Sonic's eyes on her, and she quickly looked at him. He was casually taking her in with his eyes, noting her appearance. She felt her face heat up.

He was checking her out! Amy couldn't believe it. He was actually checking her out!

"Cool trainers," he commented.

Amy wanted to slap herself. "Thanks," she murmured.

'_Idiot. You're supposed to be a _boy_. Obviously he wouldn't be checking you out_,' she told herself crossly. Being with Sonic nearly always meant that she couldn't think straight.

'_Right. No more side-tracking. Make conversation or something!_'

.

"So, Sonic, do you play any sports?" she asked.

"Does running count?" he grinned.

"Apart from that."

Sonic's brow furrowed in thought. "I guess I play baseball with the guys from time to time. Soccer's pretty cool. Oh, and it's become a habit of mine to foil plans of evil scientists," he said, smirking.

"Tell me about it. We do it all the time!" said Amy. When he looked at her in confusion she laughed nervously. "I mean _you_ do it all the time. So I've heard," she added hastily.

He seemed to accept that for an answer and he turned back to the path ahead of them.

.

There was a moment of quiet between them, with only the sounds of their footsteps and the spring breeze. Sonic was the first to break it.  
>"Hey, Andy, what's the deal with you and Rouge?" he asked curiously. "I know she flirts a lot but she's sticking to you like glue."<p>

Amy pushed up her sunglasses and thrust her hands in her pockets. "What can I say? The ladies love me."

Sonic chuckled. "Obviously," he said. "But is it a long term thing, or...?"

Amy shrugged. "Dunno. I don't really have long term things. I'm just a lone free ranger, drifting around wherever life takes me." She couldn't help wanting to grin. That response was just so Sonic.

.

The hedgehog in question let a side-ways smile creep up his muzzle. "Hah. I know the feeling," he said, his smile quirking in amusement.

The pathway took them out of the woods and into the Mobius town centre, which was filled with locals strolling through it, enjoying the sunshine. Amy looked around, smiling appreciatively at her surroundings. At least her sunglasses came in handy on days like this, and it helped that she thought they added to her coolness.

.

The two of them walked through the town for barely a few minutes before Sonic stopped abruptly. Amy almost crashed into him, and observed his staring expression. Before she could ask what was up, a grin spread across his muzzle and he said, "Heaven just came to visit."

Amy followed his gaze, and was hardly surprised to see a brightly painted chilli dog stand situated across the road. She blinked and he was already at the stand, rubbing his hands together and hungrily eyeing the chilli dogs. She laughed and ran to join him.

.

He paid the clerk and happily collected two chilli dogs, licking his lips. "You want one, Andy?" he asked.

Amy shook her head. "Nah, I'm cool, bro. They look too spicy," she said.

"Have you ever tried this little taste of heaven?"

She shook her head again.

Sonic's eyes widened. "Seriously? You've _never_ tried a chilli dog?" he exclaimed.

"Nope." It was true. In all the time that Amy had known Sonic the Hedgehog, she'd never tried his favourite food. She'd never understood what he found so appealing about them. They just looked so greasy and all that chilli put her off.

.

Sonic thrust one at her. "You've gotta try one," he said earnestly.

She held a hand in front of it, watching the steaming chilli nervously. "No, thanks."

"Seriously, dude, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Sonic the Hedgehog is offering you one of his chilli dogs, just so that you can bask in its glory. This is the greatest honour I could ever give," he said, holding up his other chilli dog as if it were a trophy.

Amy smiled, holding back a laugh at his wide eyes, full of enthusiasm. Over a chilli dog. "Well, I've got to admit that it's a big deal that you're sacrificing a chilli dog. I know how much you love them."

.

Sonic paused holding up his trophy. "Wait. How did you know that I love chilli dogs?" he asked.

Amy was stumped. "Uh… doesn't everyone know that?" she said, secretly praying that everyone did.

"I guess stuff gets around when you're a hero," he replied. "But that's beside the point. You have to try one."

Amy looked at it again. She wasn't too keen on spice, but was somehow convincing herself that it might be an idea to see what her love interest liked so much about these things. After all, it was her goal to be closer to him, so this might be a start. "Okay," she said slowly, accepting the chilli dog. "Thanks."

.

She held it to her lips, feeling its steamy heat creep up her nose, and took a tiny nibble. Sonic chuckled.

"No, you've gotta take a bigger bite than that," he said.

She obeyed, biting off a mouthful and chewing it, half-worried that the spice would suddenly settle on her tongue. But it wasn't too spicy. It actually had quite a nice flavour, she decided. "It's pretty good," she declared, noticing Sonic smile in satisfaction. Then he observed her chilli dog, frowning slightly.

"Ah, hang on a sec. I forgot to put enough chilli on that one," he said, gesturing to his own snack that was piled high with chilli. He reached for the bottle of the spicy condiment, holding it over her chilli dog.

.

"No!" she said quickly. "Thanks, but I don't want any extra spice."

"Aw, come on. Trust me. You liked it the first time, right?" he said.

She sighed, holding it out. "Go on, then."

He squeezed the bottle, pouring the chilli all over her food. "_Now_ try it," he said proudly.

She did, and quickly finished it before she could change her mind.

"Even better, huh?" Sonic said.

.

Amy was about to answer when she felt the aftertaste. A sudden rush of heat fired up her throat and her tongue burned. She almost swore as the sharp temperature pierced her taste buds. "Oh, my god!" she choked. Completely forgetting her new persona, she jumped up and down, clenching her eyes shut as her face got hotter. "It's really hot!" she yelled, waving her hands in front of her mouth. "My eyes are watering!"

.

Sonic had to turn in his lips to stop himself from laughing. He watched as Andy hastily bought a water bottle from the clerk, jumping up and down the whole time. "You know," he called, "water actually makes it-" But the other hedgehog had already downed the bottle. "…worse," he finished. He waited as Andy paused, feeling a brief moment of relief, before his eyes shot open.

"It burns!" he screeched.

Sonic felt his stomach tense from holding back laughter. The way Andy was jumping around and screaming, he sounded almost like a girl.

.

It was a good five minutes before Amy eventually calmed down, still wincing at her poor burning tongue.

Sonic patted her shoulder. "It wears off," he chortled.

"It had better," she growled.

"Sorry, buddy, I thought you'd be able to handle the heat."

"You have very warped perceptions of heat intensity," she muttered, earning another chuckle from Sonic. While annoyed that her taste buds were still zinging, she felt glad to be in his company. She couldn't stay mad at him for long anyway.

.

They walked in silence for a while, seeing as Sonic had bought several more chilli dogs, and was scoffing them like no tomorrow. Amy, however, was scanning her mind for another conversation starter. An idea came to her quickly, out of her own curiosity more than anything else.

"So, Tails told me that one of your friends has left for a while," she said, unsure of whether or not it was the right thing to say. But she was dying to know how Sonic was feeling about the whole situation.

.

"Oh… yeah. Our friend Amy," he said quietly, his smile vanishing. "She sort of… ran away."

'_I didn't run away!_' Amy protested mentally. '_The note clearly said that I just needed some time to myself, that's all!_' She decided to voice this. "But Tails said that she'd written a note saying that she just needed to clear her head."

Sonic sighed, keeping his eyes on the ground. "Yeah, but I'm not so sure I believe that."

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><p><strong>Hopefully you enjoyed that. I tried to tackle a few things in that chapter: Amy's acting like a guy, Amy accidentally leaving hints, Knuckles feeling jealous etc. But more of that in the next chapter.<br>Please review; I love knowing what you think :) Thanks!**


	8. Complicated

**Agh, I know, I know, I left it for a while but once again I was stuck. However, I have got some of the next chapted already and I've got some more parts planned out so hopefully I won't get stuck again for a while. Thanks for your patients, guys, I really appreciate it. I can't tell you how I grateful I am that you still read this and review it despite how long I take to update it And thank you to _Skyelara, LuvyRosy, Lightning Eyes, Mijumaruwott, zEBRA, BlueyO, RANDY, SailorStar624, doctorcookiemonster, xPurpleTopazx, P, Super-Shadow1248, Kurdave125_ and _syadyniar he he._ That's quite a lot of people! Thanks guys! I hope that this chapter was worth the wait for you. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8 - <strong>**Complicated**

Amy watched Sonic closely, trying to scan his expression for every single ounce of emotion there. He didn't believe her excuse? She'd thought it would go down a bit better than it had, but then again, when she'd written it she hadn't really been thinking at all. Whenever anything was to do with Sonic, her mind just didn't function properly. She'd gotten so caught up in what she thought was a brilliant plan that she hadn't properly organised it. And now there was even more to think about.

.

Was Sonic really worried about her? She couldn't ask; it would be weird, but what she wouldn't give to know. From the way he was keeping his gaze away from her, she knew he would change the subject soon if she didn't respond to him. "Why don't you believe it?" she asked quietly.

Sonic looked up slightly, a frown still clinging to his lips. "Well… the Amy I know would never leave to clear her head," he said slowly. "If something was bothering her, she'd talk it out with her friends or watch some movies or something until she felt better. She wouldn't leave town. It doesn't make sense; it's not like her."

.

Amy was shocked. Ever since the day that Knuckles had made that comment she'd been thinking that she and Sonic didn't know each other well at all, but perhaps she underestimated him. "So then... why do you think she left?" she said.

"I don't know," said Sonic, shaking his head as he stared into ground, deep in thought. "Something must be really wrong. Either that or she's hiding something."

Amy felt a sudden urge to tear off her hat and sunglasses and call off this stupid scheme. But of course, she couldn't. "I'm sorry that she left," she said softly. '_I really am sorry, Sonic_,' she thought.

.

Sonic sent her a half-hearted smile in reply and Amy's heart thundered in her chest. He looked so troubled… or was it just confusion? Annoyance, maybe? Amy could never read his emotions, and it frustrated her to no end. She had no idea whether he was worrying about her or just angry that she left her friends. With Sonic you never knew. Maybe he didn't care as much as she hoped. Her imagination might even have been exaggerating how distant he seemed.

.

"I'm sure that she had a good reason to leave," Amy said after a pause.

"You think?" he replied, finally looking at her.

"Yeah. And I bet that if she knew that you guys were worried about her she'd feel really bad for leaving," she added.

"Maybe."

"Are _you_ worried about her?" Amy asked, hoping her voice didn't sound as eager as she felt.

Sonic shrugged and looked into the distance. "I dunno- just- let's talk about something else," he said, waving his hand dismissively.

.

Amy frowned. Was he so awkward around her that he couldn't even _talk_ _about_ her with other people? She would usually press him for answers but she didn't want to lose the flow of their conversation, which he would break off if she persisted. "Okay," she said casually. Amy tried desperately to think of another topic but her mind was clouded over. She was frustrated with herself for making it awkward between the two of them, as Sonic looked slightly irritable now. Perhaps she never should have mentioned it. What if she'd got it wrong? What if Sonic was simply annoyed by having to talk about her? Did she get on his nerves _that_ much?

.

Amy's thoughts were interrupted as a light thump sounded on the ground. She checked her pockets, knowing that she'd dropped something and looked behind her but Sonic had already heard it and stepped back to pick up the fallen object. He held it up, his eyes wide with confusion. Amy looked closer and felt herself stiffen. She'd dropped her purse! How was she going to explain that?

.

Sonic stared at the small pink purse in his hand, before his wide emerald eyes moved back to Amy. "This is Amy's purse," he said, astonished. "How did you get this?"

"I… I found it," she said, trying not to sound guilty.

"You found it?" he asked, still surprised. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was trying to piece together a mystery. "Where did you find it?"

"Urm… back at the… park," she said slowly. "If I remember correctly."

"At the _park_?" Sonic sounded dubious. "That doesn't make any sense," he said quietly, speaking to himself although Amy could still hear him. "Why would she…?" He trailed off, shaking his head.

.

"Are you sure it was at the park?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "Sure as sure can be, bro. I picked it up and decided I was gonna return it to her."

"But how would you know where to find her?"

Amy feigned a shrug. "It's a small world. I figured I'd see her somewhere in Mobius."

.

Sonic gave her a long, hard look. His eyes bore into hers.

'_He's not buying it_,' she thought, but finally he broke the staring contest.

"Well, _normally_ you would," he said.

Amy felt her stomach relax a little, and realised how tense she'd been. She couldn't afford to slip up so often; digging herself into holes wasn't going to get her anywhere. She wasn't exactly the world's best liar.

.

Sonic was turning over the purse in his hands as they walked, his eyes glazed over in concentration. Amy watched him, drawn in by the pools of green that were usually so bright but now hardened like concrete.

"What are you thinking about, dude?" she said softly.

Sonic came out of his trance. "Nothing really. It's just a little weird that Amy would leave her purse here. She's usually organised."

Amy smiled. "I know," she said, and then realised her mistake. "Well… girls normally are… right? Not always, but… urm…"

.

Sonic stopped walking and turned to face her. "Why do you keep saying stuff like that?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "You're acting kind of weird. What are you trying to hide?"

Amy paused, feeling daunted. So much for her plan going well. Potential answers to Sonic's question were fairly limited. What was she supposed to say: 'Well, Sonic, it turns out that I'm secretly Amy in disguise and that explains my weird behaviour'?

.

She swallowed. Perhaps there was only one way out of this. "Sonic," she said with a sigh. "I've got to admit, I haven't been completely honest with you."

His eyebrows rose a little higher, inviting her confession. He was listening.

Looking him straight in the eye, she spoke. "I… I know Amy," she said slowly, making each word clear.

Sonic blinked. "What?"

"I know Amy," she repeated. "We're friends."

Sonic looked closer at her, his brow furrowed. "You're friends? With Amy?"

"Yeah," she said, forcing confidence into her voice. "Close friends. I've actually known her since she was born." '_Not really a lie_,' she thought.

.

Sonic's eyes were full of disbelief. "Since she was born? But… She's never mentioned you. She's never mentioned any other friends," he said.

Amy tried to smirk in the typical Shadow-fashion, folding her arms. "We tend not to talk about each other much. Keeps our friendship closer; private, ya know? We know almost everything about each other and nobody gets in the way of that. We'd prefer it to stay that way."

"So… why didn't you mention this before?" Sonic asked, still doubtful.

.

"Well I would've, but at first I didn't even know that you were talking about the same Amy," she said carefully. "And you seem like a cool guy; I wanted to get to know you, and I thought that if you knew me and Amy were friends, it might've changed the way you acted around me. Sorry… dude."

Sonic finally relaxed, still a little bewildered. "I'm just surprised that she never mentioned it," he said quietly.

"Well, I guess she wasn't expecting the two of us to meet! Lucky, huh?" Amy said, just hoping that he was believing this.

"Yeah," Sonic said absently, scratching his ear. "But has Amy known you all that time?"

"Yep. All sixteen years of it!"

.

Amy was amazed at herself. She really didn't know where all of this was coming from. Sonic would ask a question and just like that she would give an answer, most of it being tiny white lies spun from the truth. After all, she _had_ known herself since birth. And it was true that she _wasn't_ expecting Sonic to meet her twice. And obviously she _did_ want to get to know him. That wasn't so bad, was it? She was trying hard not to be too deceitful.

.

Either way, it was clear that Sonic was still baffled by the discovery that Amy supposedly had a friend that had known her all her life. His eyes had taken on that glazed look again, and they drifted towards the horizon, which was looking darker now as the sky was completely flooded with orange. A sudden thought must have come to him then because his eyes snapped back into life and he quickly faced her. "Did you know that she'd run away?" he demanded.

Amy, mentally wincing at the phrase 'run away', said very solemnly, "No. I had no idea. We don't talk so much anymore but I didn't think she'd _run away_. There's got to be a reason for it."

.

Sonic said nothing. Their footsteps continued briefly as the hard pavement turned back into grass where the town ended and the forest began. End of the line. Sonic paused, and Amy saw his chest rise and fall heavily, before he spoke.

"It's been cool, Andy, but I've gotta run," he said, though his voice was flat and lacked his usual enthusiasm. "Got stuff to do, you know? So, urm… thanks and I'll catch ya later."

.

Amy reached out but before she could object he'd gone, leaving a blast of air that almost tore the spring daffodils out of their roots. She let her arm fall limp by her side. Not even changing her identity could get that boy to stay with her, could it? She'd thought that having 'Andy' being friends with the real her was a good idea; it would mean that she could speak for herself without having to make excuses, but it seemed that she'd just made everything more complicated.

.

Even so, she reasoned with herself, it was still early stages. She'd barely been living as 'Andy' for a few days, so perhaps she just needed more time. She wanted desperately for all this messing around to be over and done with, so that she could get on with what she really went to all that trouble for. Time with Sonic. And not just a few minutes or hours, but time to properly bond with him. While it aggravated her to the point of tearing her quills out that this plan was stretching her limits, she knew it would be worthwhile eventually. The thought of knowing Sonic back to front, being able to open up to him and have him do the same, was thrilling. She would do whatever it took to make that dream a reality.

.

These thoughts comforted her as she made her way home, the gentle evening breeze ruffling her quills as well as the newly-sprouted flower buds. Spring was definitely her favourite season, she decided, as it was the season of new beginnings. She couldn't help but think that it was the beginning of something wonderful between her and Sonic, and that through her little scheme she was simply helping fate along.

.

She soon arrived at her house, collapsing into the sofa with a tired groan. Her gaze rested on the phone, and she contemplated ringing Rouge. She wasn't sure why. After all, she had been determined to make this work on her own. She hadn't asked for Rouge's help; it was quite the opposite. She'd felt annoyed at the bat for trying to take charge and acting as she knew everything. So then why did she want to talk to her?

.

Amy swung herself up and off of the sofa, and gingerly picked up the phone. Maybe she was being too needy? And besides, she didn't need Rouge's help. But… it would've been nice to talk to someone, and she couldn't exactly call Cream anymore. She didn't like to admit it, but Rouge was now the only person she had.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed that :) I'm still surfing off a big wave of inspiration so I'll hopefully update soon. Hopefully. Thanks again for reading, and I love hearing what you think about the story.<strong>


	9. Closer

**That was quick! :P Please don't get too excited; I'm still wondering how on earth I managed to get two chapters out in one weekend! But still, I know where I'm going with the story now, so hopefully updates won't take ages like last time. Thanks to _BlueyO_ (I've gotta say, it touched me to know that you were thinking about my story! ^_^), _Zebra, doctorcookiemonster, Lightning Eyes, tailsfan0101cream, Super-Shadow1248 _and _ChillyNight_ for your reviews! It's nice to know that people are excited to read this story! :)  
><strong>**Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9 <strong>**- Closer**

Amy flipped through her phone contacts, wondering if she even had Rouge's number. It was unlikely, but- Oh, she'd found it! Amy smiled. She'd probably taken it down once before, just in case, and she was pleased that she had. Within seconds, she'd dialled the number, and thankfully, she could hear a steady ringing reaching her ear. It continued for a while, and Amy fiddled with the phone cord. Either Rouge wasn't in or she was taking ages to reach the phone.

.

Amy was considering hanging up when at last a low, sultry voice sounded on the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Rouge," Amy smiled.

"Hi there, Pinky," said Rouge smoothly. "Fancy having you callin' me. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I guess I just wanted to talk to someone," Amy admitted.

"And you called _me_?" The voice on the other end sounded almost pleased.

"Yeah. I mean, I can't really call anybody else, can I?"

"Not really," Rouge said. "I've gotta say, Pinky, I'm glad you called. It's been kind of boring around here since the jewellery store closed down."

.

"It closed because all of its stock was being _stolen_," Amy said accusingly.

A chuckle resounded from the earpiece. "I know. It's such a shame isn't it? But I'll bet whoever took all those gems must be pretty pleased with themselves."

Amy rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you are," she muttered. "But listen, Rouge, I wanted to talk to you for another reason. I've done something that might have been a bit… risky."

"Nothing new there," Rouge said, and Amy could hear the smirk in her voice. "Go on. Tell me."

.

Amy frowned, but continued. "So I was hanging out with Sonic – which was really great by the way; we walked together for ages and we were talking and it was just so easy to be with him, and…"

"Amy," said Rouge, but the hedgehog was still talking excitedly.

"… He got me to try a chilli dog which was really spicy but it made Sonic laugh and I guess it _was_ kind of funny. And, oh, he has such a cute laugh! I mean, I was a bit annoyed because my tongue hurt but I can't stay mad at-"

"Amy." Rouge spoke louder, but she still went unheard.

"… I know we didn't spent _that_ much time together, but it was still-"

"Amy!" Rouge shouted.

.

Amy let out a huff at being interrupted. "What?" she demanded.

"Get to the point."

Amy narrowed her eyes. "Hey, if you're supposed to be part of this, you have to listen to what I have to say," she said sharply. She could picture Rouge with a condescending smirk on her face.

"I think you're forgetting that I'm holding the cards, Pinky," Rouge stated. "_I'm_ doing _you_ the favour. If you want my help, cut to the chase. But it's nice that your happy," she added.

Amy lost her frown. "_Thank_ you," she said. "Anyway, while we were walking I accidentally dropped my purse."

.

Rouge breathed in through her lips, making a wincing sound. "What did Big Blue have to say about that?"

"Urm… he was confused. He said that I was acting weird so I said that I was friends with… me."

There was a pause.

"Wait. So Sonic thinks that 'Andy' is friends with you?" Rouge said, analysing the situation.

"Yeah. I thought it was a good idea at the time," Amy explained. She waited for Rouge's response, anxious to hear what the bat would make of the situation.

.

"You know," said Rouge thoughtfully, "this could work for you. Whenever you need to mention yourself, you've got a good excuse. But was Sonic convinced?"

"He seemed to be."

"Hmm. Then I don't think you have anything to worry about, hon."

"Oh." Amy smiled involuntarily. "Thanks, Rouge."

"No problem."

.

That was all that Amy had wanted to talk about. There wasn't really a reason to stay on the phone anymore, but Amy decided to carry on the conversation. "So… How was _your_ day?"

Rouge let out a short laugh. "As if you'd really wanna know."

"I do."

"Oh." Rouge sounded pleasantly surprised, and Amy smiled. She'd never thought of it before, but what if Rouge was lonely? It seemed silly to think it, but the bat never spent much time with anyone other than Knuckles, and all he ever did was fly into a temper (particularly with Rouge, Amy had noticed). It was possible that Rouge just wanted someone to hang out with, even if she acted like she couldn't care less. And as for Knuckles, he spent his life guarding the master emerald; he _needed_ some more social interaction. And that was why Amy made yet another task at the top of her to-do list: 'Hook up Rouge and Knuckles'.

.***

The morning sunlight reached into Amy's bedroom, and the hedgehog moaned groggily. She didn't mind the light too much; she'd still be able to sleep if only somebody would _stop_ knocking on her door. She buried her face in her pillow, trying to drift back into sleep but her ears perked up as there was yet another set of knocks. She growled. It wasn't as if she could answer it anyway.

.

She remained in her bed, but the noisy offender continued to knock, and had officially ruined any chance of sleep. Amy shoved off her duvet and ran to window. Standing at her doorstep, with a hand on her hip as usual, was Rouge. Amy heaved a sigh, and stormed down the stairs, tearing open the door and pulling Rouge inside the house.

.

"Well, aren't we cheerful today, Pinky?" Rouge said, observing the hedgehog.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Amy shrieked.

"About eleven o'clock," Rouge replied calmly. "You've slept in late."

Amy glanced at the clock, confirming this. She must have been tired.

.

Rouge eyed her again, taking in her pyjama t-shirt and shorts that were decorated with hearts. "You need to get changed," she said. "We're all having a little get together at the beach."

"Everyone?" Amy asked, and Rouge nodded. "Whose idea was that?"

"Yours truly," Rouge said, looking pleased with herself.

Amy tilted her head to the side. "You arranged it? But why?"

"It's an opportunity for you to spend some time with the others and earn their trust. I even convinced Knucklehead to leave his rock with my… persuasive techniques," she said with a secretive smile.

Amy grinned, sending Rouge a wink. "Gotcha," she giggled.

.

It took Amy a short while to get changed and grab some breakfast before the two girls left the house, heading for Emerald Coast. Rouge looked longingly into the sky, wanting to fly there, but decided to walk with Amy. The pink hedgehog wasn't that bad. She might've been a bit annoying sometimes but her bubbly personality made a change to Knuckles's constant bad mood.

.

The two of them didn't have to walk far before they reach the coast, where everyone else had already arrived. They were greeted by their friends and by the warm, salty smell of the sea. The waves were gently dancing along the shoreline, and Mobians were paddling contentedly, enjoying the weather. Amy smiled, welcoming the sea breeze as it balanced with the heat of the sun. She was glad that her friends seemed comfortable around her. Rouge had told her on the way there that a few of them were unsure if a day out was a good idea, with her being gone. She couldn't help smiling at that. It was nice to see that they cared, though she hated to lie to them like this.

.

Soon enough, everyone began to relax. Tails and Cosmo were playing in the sea with a beach ball, tossing it at each other and giggling. Cream was building a sand castle with Cheese's help, and Rouge was hanging around with Knuckles, probably either irritating him or showering him with flirtatious comments. Sonic was stretched out on the sand, staying as far back from the sea as possible, with a sleepy smile on his face. Amy felt a grin pull at her lips as she studied his slim yet muscular physique, his arms behind his head and supporting his cobalt blue quills.

.

She walked towards him as casually as she could and dropped onto the sand beside him. "Hi," she said.

"Hey," Sonic replied, his eyes closed.

Amy leaned back so that they were at the same level, and focused her gaze on the ocean. "It's hot out here," she commented.

"So I've noticed," chuckled Sonic.

Amy scanned the scene before them, noticing that Rouge had now managed to drag Knuckles into the sea with her. How did she hold so much power over him? It was something that Amy could never seem to do herself with Sonic.

.

She looked again, realising that everyone was in the sea now, as the heat had gotten stronger. It was just her and Sonic. She'd never get him to go in, but maybe it was worth a try. "Why don't you paddle, bro?" she said coolly.

Sonic shook his head. "I'm not a big water fan."

Amy took a second to mull over this. She knew that Sonic didn't like water, but she'd never known his reason for it. "Why?" she asked.

"Just don't like it," was her reply.

.

"Is it too cold for you?" she questioned him.

He shrugged. "Kind of."

'_That means no_,' she thought. "Too wet?"

He smiled in amusement. "I don't think it's gonna get any drier," he said.

Amy shifted in the sand so that she was completely facing him. "So what is then? There's got to be a reason why you don't like it," she insisted.

"Not necessarily," he said. "It's like me asking you: why do you wear clothes?"

.

Amy blushed furiously and hoped that he wouldn't notice. "B-because I want to!"

"You see," said Sonic, wagging his finger. "You like wearing clothes and I don't like the water."

"That's not the same thing!"

"Yeah, it is."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "There's got to be more to it than that," she said stubbornly. "I don't think you're being honest."

.

Sonic opened his eyes to look at her, and his bright green orbs connected with hers. "Don't ya?"

"No. And I know how you hate liars."

Sonic's eyes widened briefly, but then he understood. "Amy told you, huh?" he said, his mood almost darkening for a moment. He propped himself up with his arms. "Fair enough."

"So then tell me," she pushed him. "What is it you hate so much about water?"

"Alright. It holds you back," he said. "You can't walk properly let alone run in that stuff. I like having control of my feet, not having them dragged from under me." He gestured with his hands, using his fingers to imitate two legs slipping on his palm. He was speaking so animatedly, and Amy could see that he really meant what he was saying.

.

"It's freaky, ya know?" he added. "How it can just take you under like that, and if you get tossed around too much you can't even tell how to get back to the surface."

Amy nodded slowly, trying to catch hold of her thoughts. Did Sonic just open up to her? He'd explained to her why he hated water so much, and Amy couldn't help feeling touched. It counted as a confession, didn't it? They'd practically had a heart to heart! She was sure that he'd never reveal those inner worries to the real her, but even in disguise she was happy. This was just a building block of what could be a powerful relationship.

.

"Yo, Andy?" Sonic said. "Earth to Andy?"

Amy shook herself out of her thoughts. "Sorry, I got distracted," she explained. "But you know, Sonic, the current is really weak today. There are barely any waves at all, and it's so hot. Why don't you just go into the sea for a while? Just a few minutes?"

Sonic shook his head. "Dude, not even the heat could make me go in there," he said firmly.

"But it's so nice and cool, and you can stay in the shallow part."

Sonic frowned slightly, looking out at the vast body of water.

.

"Everybody else is there," Amy said. "You don't want to be a spoil sport, do ya?" She knew that, normally, she would have no chance of getting him to join them. But as Andy, it was possible, wasn't it?

Sonic sighed. He took off his sneakers and his socks, and got to his feet. "Well? What are you sittin' around for?" he grinned.

Amy didn't even try to fight the huge smile that spread across her muzzle. She jumped up beside him and he raced her to the water's edge.

.

The two hedgehogs paused at the shore, and Sonic gingerly put a foot in. "It's wet," he announced, and Amy chortled. She loved how adorable he looked as he was moving very slowly, probably for the first time ever, with his ears slightly flattened. She was about to run into the sea but she held herself back, realising a slight dilemma.

.

"Aren't you coming in?" Sonic asked, still edging slowly into the water.

"Urm… I don't know," she said nervously.

"Why?"

"My clothes will get all wet."

"So take 'em off."

Amy felt her face flaming once again and gritted her teeth. '_Remember, you're a boy. You're a _boy_. What he said was perfectly normal_,' she told herself. "I… I can't," she whined.

"Why not?"

"Because... I don't want to!"

"Then come in anyway," Sonic said, almost ankle-deep in water.

.

Amy hesitated. She didn't want to spend the rest of the day soaking wet, but this was her chance to have some proper time with Sonic. Stay dry or have fun with Sonic? It was no contest. She ran full-pelt into the sea, yelping as the cold water splashed against her jeans, drenching them in the process. They felt heavier already, and she struggled to wade around in the water, holding out one arm for balance while holding onto her cap with the other. Sonic chuckled at her antics, losing his look of uneasiness. She smirked and batted water at him, laughing at his shocked expression.

"Hey!" he cried, spraying her back.

.

This quickly developed into a water fight, with the two hedgehogs chucking miniature tidal waves at each other, in fits of laughter. Amy's soggy jeans felt horrible against her legs and the salty water kept getting in her mouth but she was having so much fun that she didn't care. She'd never had this kind of interaction with Sonic before. She'd never been able to mess around or make jokes with him; he'd always seemed so discomforted with her. She didn't even know that it was possible to have so much fun with him, but she loved it.

.

It was a while before they calmed down, and they trundled back onto the sand, panting.

"Who knew water could be so much fun?" Sonic said, dropping to the ground and resuming his relaxing position, smiling widely.

Amy joined him, readjusting her sunglasses and wiping off the water droplets.

"I've gotta say, I'm glad you made me try it out," he admitted.

"I'm not sure that I can say the same for you making me try chilli dogs," she joked.

Sonic smiled at this, but the mention of his favourite food made him sit up. "Speaking of chilli dogs," he grinned.

.

Amy slapped her forehead teasingly and pointed towards the Clamshell Café that was further down the beach. Sonic quickly asked everyone in the group what they wanted for lunch and zipped across the sand while the rest of them prepared the picnic blanket and sat down together in a disorderly circle.

Rouge leaned towards Amy to whisper in her ear, "I've told the others about you being friends with… you. They believed it."

"Thanks," Amy whispered back.

.

Sonic returned in record time with everyone's orders and they all dug in, enjoying the sunshine. Everyone was in high spirits as they ate, and Amy was very pleased with the way things were turning out. She looked around the circle at her friends. Watching their smiling faces made her even happier, until she noticed that one person wasn't entirely cheerful. Cream had a slightly troubled frown on her face as she nibbled on her sandwich.

"What's up, Cream?" she asked.

.

The rest of the group looked up at the rabbit, noting her expression. She smiled sadly. "Oh, it's nothing, Mr. Andy," she said. "It's just that… I feel bad that we're having fun while Amy's not here."

The atmosphere took on a sour note and Amy winced. She wanted to hug Cream and tell her that she was fine, but of course, she couldn't. She turned to Sonic, wanting to catch his reaction, and saw his smile disappear. Something in his expression changed every time Amy was mentioned and she couldn't be sure why. He could have been missing her or just plain annoyed for all she knew.

.

"I'm sure Amy's fine," said Rouge.

"Yeah, she'll be back soon," Tails reminded her.

Knuckles and Cosmo chipped in with reassurances, but Sonic said nothing. He finished up his chilli dog, mumbled something about taking a run and dashed off, leaving a sense of discomfort to befall once again.

* * *

><p><strong>Sonic doesn't seem too happy. I wonder why... :D<br>****I hope you enjoyed that, but the weekend is over so school dominates once again. Thanks for reading! Please review! :)**


	10. Matchmaking

**I have no excuse for my late update apart from that I briefly lost my motivation, but it's back :) I can't promies weekly updates but I honestly do try. A big thank you to _Skyelara, SuperShadow-1248, xPurpleTopazx, BlueyO, ChillyNight, doctorcookiemonster, Lightning Eyes, Kaikai Kitsune, Hollie the hedgehog _and _Valerika _(welcome to the story! ^_^).**

**So... in case its been so long that this story has gained some cobwebs in your minds, just to recap: Cream mentioned that it wasn't the same without Amy with them and Sonic left the group... But why?**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10 – Matchmaking<strong>

Amy couldn't believe it. He'd run off. Again. They'd come so far; he was even starting to open up to her and then, like so many times before, he'd ditched her. Perhaps it wasn't specifically her; the rest of the group were equally disappointed with his sudden exit, but that didn't stop her from feeling anxious and frustrated. Why was it so hard to get that boy to stay in one place? He just couldn't wait to get away from her, could he?

.

Even when she was in disguise, he somehow managed to shun her in every way possible. She roughly grabbed a clump of sand, clutching it tightly and watching it seep through her fingers. It was amazing how closely it resembled Sonic. You try and catch him and he only leaves you faster, she thought bitterly. She focused harder on the sand, trying to lose herself in the tiny grains of gold and black, wishing she could just disappear into them.

.

The clatter of plates brought her out of her daze and she noticed her friends clearing up the picnic. Was the day nearly over already? She jumped up to help them, glad to be momentarily free of her thoughts. So while they carried out the monotonous tasks of stacking the plates, collecting the cutlery and rolling up the blanket, she could concentrate on them rather than thinking about a certain blue hedgehog. She held up one end of the blanket, struggling to roll it properly, as the other end was caught under the windshield. She leaned forward, yanking on it and almost toppling over.

.

Suddenly it was free, and a slender gloved hand was helping her to finish the job. Amy sent Rouge a grateful nod. "Thanks."

"No problem." Rouge handed her the edge of the blanket, with a smile on her face that wasn't her usual smirk. It was genuine, and Amy saw a light of compassion in her that she'd never seen before. She watched the bat curiously as the two of them finished the jobs, as if properly seeing her for the first time. Rouge had helped her more than she'd realised, even if she wouldn't always admit it.

.

"Don't worry about Sonic," Rouge told her, after they'd cleared up. The two of them were standing by the edge of the sea, watching the thousands of sparkles created by sun as it sprinkled its rays onto the ocean below.

Amy looked at her companion. It was nice of her to say that, but Amy would still worry. She always did; it was just one of the many ways that Sonic affected her. "Thanks," she replied.

"I mean it, girl," said Rouge. "You know what Sonic's like. He needs his space, but he'll come back soon. He'd better anyway. It took me a long time to plan this whole daytrip so he'll drag his blue butt back here if he knows what's good for him."

.

Now that was something that Amy had forgotten. Rouge had planned everything. She'd arranged the date, the time, and she'd somehow got all of their friends to go. That wasn't something that was easy to do. Amy scanned her once again, analysing her. Rouge had gone to a lot of effort, considering her usual tolerance levels, and Amy had only just realised it. The two of them had been given the chance to spend a bit more time together recently and she'd come to think of Rouge as more than just an ally. In fact, nobody had ever helped Amy as much as Rouge had in the past few days.

.

"Rouge," she said slowly. "Why are you helping me?"

Rouge kept her eyes on the horizon but the corners of her mouth twitched into a smile. "I could say that I'm only in on it for the action," she said.

"But the truth is?"

"Well… you're not half-bad, Pinky. I suppose at first it was just a bit of fun but I don't mind helping you. You're sort of like a more naïve and careless, crazier and sillier version of me, so I thought you'd need some guidance from a professional. No offence, of course," she added, smirking.

.

Amy frowned slightly. "None taken," she said. "But what I'm trying to say is that you've gone to a lot of trouble and it's not really like you."

"You mean I'm usually in it for the one and only?"

Amy paused. "Yeah," she admitted.

Rouge's smile grew. "That's generally the case but I do feel kind of sorry for you so I thought it wouldn't hurt to lend a hand. And you can't deny it's been fun."

"True," Amy said, nodding. "It's a lot better than struggling through this by myself, I'll admit. And maybe we don't always agree but you've really helped me out, Rouge. So thanks. You're a good friend." She smiled brightly at the bat, who suddenly held a light of surprise in her teal-blue orbs.

"I didn't know you thought of me as a friend," Rouge said. The layers of polished suavity were gone from her voice, leaving it softer, younger.

.

"Well I do," Amy replied. "You're really not the way you act around everybody else. You know, you can actually be very supportive and you managed to calm me down quite a few times, which is something to be proud of. Don't you think we're friends?" she questioned the older girl, tilting her head.

Rouge blinked, and a pure, simple smile graced her features. "I suppose we are," she said, pleased.

Amy felt once again the sense of understanding between them as the two girls looked at one another, realising that perhaps they both had something to learn from each other. Rouge had been the only person for Amy to turn to for the past five days and she'd lived up to that role more than Amy had expected she ever would. And for that, the hedgehog decided that she was soon going to do what she'd promised: get Knuckles and Rouge together at all costs.

.

She glanced behind her and noticed the echidna himself, his plum-coloured eyes resting on the two girls with a scowl on his face. How long had he been watching them for? "Anyway, Rouge, I've got things to do. There's still my side of the deal to hold up," she said, nodding to Knuckles.

Rouge tilted her head up as if it didn't concern her. "Really, Amy, I wouldn't bother," she said.

"But we have a deal," Amy insisted.

"I know that, but he's not worth the trouble. He'll come crawling after me soon enough."

.

Amy didn't argue. Rouge could pretend not to care as much as she liked; Amy wasn't convinced. The bat clearly had a thing for Knuckles and Amy wasn't going to believe otherwise. And whether or not her new friend counted it, they had a deal, and this hopeless romantic of a hedgehog was more than happy to play the matchmaker. With a small wave to Rouge, she moved back down the beach towards Knuckles, feeling increasingly uncomfortable under his glare. His narrowed eyes were constantly following her, sizing her up. She put her hands in her pockets as she reached him, to stop herself from fidgeting if nothing else.

.

She'd barely stopped in front of him when he snapped, "What do you want?"

Her discomfort was suddenly swapped for annoyance and she bit her lip to prevent an angry comment from escaping. If she'd have been able to act normally, she would've whipped out her hammer right then and there. But instead, she said coolly, "That's no way to greet a friend."

"I'm not your friend," he said.

"Why? What have I ever done to you?" she demanded, already feeling that she was losing her patience with him.

"You turned up," he muttered, and Amy couldn't be sure if he'd intended for her to hear it.

.

She felt a sudden bolt of anger shoot through her, fuelled by her quick temper. "You're just jealous because I was over there with Rouge," she spat. "Alone with her."

To her satisfaction, a light flickered across his violet eyes and he, too, clenched his fists. "You want to try saying that again?" he snarled.

"Sure," she said, suddenly grinning. "You're jealous because I was alone with Rouge."

In a rush of fury he was up, standing close to her, his nose almost jabbing into hers. His gaze was so fierce it was almost painful. "How about we try for round two?" he cried.

.

Amy suddenly regretted teasing him. She did not want to get into another fight, especially with no more tricks up her sleeve, and she needed to sway the conversation in her favour. "Hey," she said hesitantly. "Sorry, dude. I didn't mean to get you all fired up."

"It's a bit late for that now, don't you think?" he growled, but his voice was quieter.

"It's not my fault that I might have struck a nerve," Amy said. "It's so obvious that you like her."

His eyes narrowed further. "I don't want anything to do with her!"

"Oh please, Knuckles. Who are you trying to convince?"

"Well I sure as hell don't give a damn what you think!"

.

Amy sighed. Sometimes talking to Knuckles was just as effective as talking to a rock. The two of them had a patchy friendship thanks to their tempers which were equally likely to flare up in an instant. Perhaps it was time for a softer approach. "Look, I'm sorry if I offended you," she said. "I just don't understand why you don't ask her out."

"I don't like her like that!" he insisted. "And you two are too busy going gaga over each other anyway!"

"What do you mean?" Amy asked, feeling embarrassed and knowing perfectly well what he meant.

"You two are always flirting and you've only known each other for a few days! All Rouge ever talks about is you!"

"Have you ever thought that she might be trying to make you jealous?" Amy said, hinting at him. He paused.

"As if," he said, finally calming down. "She only has eyes for you."

.

Amy shook her head, realising that Knuckles really was bothered by 'Andy' and Rouge. She had no idea he could be so sensitive. She felt guilty now, understanding just how aggravated he was. She'd never been particularly close with him but it was clear now that he really did like Rouge. "It's not like that," she said softly. "Rouge likes you. Just ask her out."

"So you can rub the rejection in my face?" he said bitterly.

"No. So you two can be happy."

"And where do you fit into all this?"

"I don't, because I don't like Rouge like that."

"Don't you?" he said flatly, though he'd clearly gained more interest.

"No."

"You act like you do."

.

At this, Amy stood taller, trying to look smug. "That's 'cause I'm a ladies' man," she declared.

Knuckles rolled his eyes, his glare returning to his face. "Sure you are," he scoffed.

Amy quickly made herself look more serious, hoping that she hadn't lost the faint link between them. "But seriously, Knuckles, you should ask her out," she said.

He looked away slightly, murmuring, "Hm," as a response.

"I mean it," she said. "I'm not trying to make you angry; I don't want to be your enemy. I just think that you two would make a good couple." She waited for his response.

.

"I'll consider it," he said gruffly, and Amy smiled.

"Good," she replied. "You'll regret it if you don't."

"And you're not going to turn it all around and make me look stupid?" he said, the menace temporarily returning to his expression. "You're not going to ask her out instead?"

"No," she said firmly. She turned to walk away, but couldn't resist shooting him a cheeky grin. "But, just to let you know, if you don't ask her soon I'll get there before you do."

"What?" he exploded. "I thought you didn't like her like that!"

"Well yeah but come on, dude, you know how it is: she's hot," Amy called, fighting off laughter. That ought to have sealed the deal. She hurried back to Rouge, giggling.

.

Rouge eyed Amy nervously, half-wishing that she'd stopped her from talking to Knuckles. The hedgehog was grinning like an idiot, and Rouge dreaded to think what she'd said to him. Then again, at least he wasn't looking so grumpy anymore.

"My debt is repaid," Amy chirped.

"What did you do?"

"Exactly what I said I would. He's going to ask you out!" she said gleefully. "Any day now, I bet!"

Rouge couldn't help feeling pleasantly surprised. Had Amy seriously gotten him to agree? Not that she cared, of course. But either way, it might be nice to spend some proper time with him without the Master Emerald being concerned. "What exactly did you say to him?" she asked.

.

"Don't worry," Amy tittered. "I just said that I knew he liked you and then I told him to ask you out." She decided to leave out the part where she'd told Knuckles that Rouge liked him. What Rouge didn't know wouldn't hurt her - quite the opposite, in fact. Amy beamed at her friend, very pleased with herself and her matchmaking skills.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," said Rouge. "Some sense would've been knocked into his thick old skull eventually."

Amy just smiled. "I know what you really mean. You're welcome," she said cheekily. "It's only fair that I help you with your romance while you help me with mine."

.

She waited for Rouge to counter that remark with her own witty comment but the bat just smirked.

"Speaking of which," Rouge said, looking past Amy's head.

Amy turned around and her heart jumped inside her chest. Sitting on the sand, further down the beach, was Sonic.

* * *

><p><strong>So.. I wanted to add some Rouge and Amy-ness because their friendship is something that I'm trying to show the development of. Hopefully I'm managing to do that properly, as well as setting up Knuckles and Rouge... I must say I enjoy writing the banter between Amy and Knuckles ^_^<strong>

** I hope that this chapter was worth the wait. You'll have to wait again to see what happens next though, sorry ;) But I'll try not to make it 3 weeks this time ^^'**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!**


	11. Shake on It

**Yes! I didn't take me a stupidly long time to update! :)  
><strong>**Thanks to _Skyelara, Super-Shadow1248, XoxoSonamy4440oxoX, zEBRA, doctorcookiemonster, Miss Topaz, Hollie the hedgehog, Lightning Eyes, burlesquesparkles, Chilly Night, Code1295, LuvyRosy, Valerika, Juliix, Kaikai Kitsune _and _Mi_. There's quite a lot of you now and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you all taking the time to read this story and telling me what you think. ^_^**

**I worked hard to get this chapter right, and I hope you all enjoy it. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11 – Shake on It<strong>

Amy felt her pulse speed up and cursed herself for how much Sonic affected her. He was staring out to sea, sitting with his arm rested on his knee while his other leg stretched out.

Rouge prodded her and said, "Go and talk to him."

Amy hesitated. She still felt that she was treading on eggshells where Sonic was concerned. She didn't want to mess anything up, so she was surprised to find her feet moving automatically, taking her to him.

.

He didn't even look up as she sat down beside him. His lime-green eyes were set firmly on the horizon, and Amy wondered if he'd even noticed her at all.

"Hey," she said nervously.

"Hey," he replied.

So he _had_ noticed her. "Where did you go?"

He shrugged. "Just for a run." His voice was blank and unemotional.

"But… why did you want to run?" she asked, unsure if she'd been too forward.

Something glimmered in his eyes and for a moment it seemed that he would reveal what he was thinking, that he would finally show her what was going on inside the mind of Sonic the Hedgehog, but whatever it was, he held it back. "Sometimes I just like to take a time out," he said.

"To think?"

"I guess."

.

Amy willed him to look at her but his gaze stayed locked onto the ocean. Once again, she found herself struggling to think of something to say. She was ransacking her brain for replies when she was granted her wish, and he turned to face her with a gaze so serious and concentrated that it blew her mind.

"Andy," he said, "is it really true that you've known Amy all her life?"

"Yes," she answered, distantly conjuring all the possible reasons why he'd asked her that.

"So then you must have noticed how weird it is that she left a note saying she was 'clearing her head?'"

"Erm…"

.

"Don't you think it's odd that she just disappeared like that?" he pressed, his eyes becoming animated. A sudden passion seared through his gaze as his numbness dissolved. "If you've been friends with Amy for that long, then you know that it's not like her. It just feels wrong, you know?"

Amy stared. She didn't know whether to feel excited or guilty. There were no two ways about it: Sonic didn't believe her excuse. At all. He'd probably never even believed it for a second, judging by the look on his face.

.

The only thing that Amy didn't understand was how he'd known. They didn't exactly get much one-to-one time and she sincerely doubted that he listened to much of anything that she said to him. And yet here he was, firmly denying that Amy would ever run away for such a mysterious reason. Could it be that Knuckles had been wrong? What if Amy and Sonic knew each other more than they realised they did? Or maybe Sonic was jumping to conclusions and just happened to be right? But his expression was so intense, and it was so unlike him to dwell on something for so long…

.

"Andy?"

Amy snapped back into reality and focused on Sonic. Realising from the burning question in his eyes that he wanted an answer, she managed to stutter, "Y-yeah. I know what you mean. It is weird."

Something like relief settled in Sonic's face. "Nobody else seems to have noticed it," he said. "No one seems to think anything of it. Even Cream doesn't find it suspicious and she's really close with Amy. But there's definitely something wrong here."

"Yeah," she said vaguely. "But, erm, she did say that she'd be back as soon as possible."

.

Sonic frowned. "I'm pretty sure that's just a cover-up. Did she tell you anything that was bothering her? Has she ever mentioned running away?"

Amy made herself shake her head. "No… she seemed fine. There's no reason I can think of," she murmured, uncomfortable with lying to his face.

"That's what I thought," he said. "So then I decided that I was gonna find out what this is all about."

"How?" she breathed.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. If you've known her all her life, then you could figure out where she's gone, right?"

.

Amy didn't know how to respond to that. She couldn't help feeling anxious about where he was going with this. "I guess so…"

"In that case," he said slowly, determinedly, his gaze intensifying, "will you help me find her?"

"What?"

"When I first read that note I kind of assumed that she'd be back by now. I didn't think that Amy could stay away from her friends for more than a few days but, if you count how long it's been since the last time anyone's seen her, she's been gone for almost two weeks! So I think it's time to find her and figure out what's really going on. I've tried already, but speeding 'round the planet isn't gonna help much."

.

Amy stared at him. She hadn't expected him to say that. She thought maybe he'd ask her a few more questions, but asking her to help him find herself? It was complicated to say the least. She couldn't seem to get her head around it, while part of her was simply trying to control the ecstatic side of her mind. How could she not feel just a bit elated that he wanted to look for her? Wait, didn't he say that he'd already tried looking? Amy had the sudden urge to fling her arms around him and it took a great deal of self-control not to. Oh, he really does care, she thought dreamily.

.

Her mind spiralled off into romantic thoughts of Sonic travelling the world for her, just to find her. It was as if she was in her own fairytale, where the hero does everything in his power to find the girl. She fought to keep a grin off her face. Surely, this was proof that he liked her as more than a friend? But then, she supposed, she wouldn't be here in the first place. Don't get your hopes up, Amy, she managed to tell herself, wishing that she could ignore the fizzling excitement inside of her.

.

He was still watching her expectantly, growing impatient with her stunned silence.

"So, you want me to help you find her?" she said, but it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah."

"But… do we really need to?" she asked feebly, hoping to put him off. It wouldn't be fair to make him trail around looking for her when she was there the whole time.

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Don't you want to find her? I thought she was your friend."

"Of course I do. And yeah, she is, but maybe… maybe she doesn't want to be found."

"All the more reason to find her and figure out why. So are you with me?"

.

Amy wasn't sure. The less she had to lie, the better. But if she agreed it was yet another chance for her to spend time with him, and if she was acting as her best friend then that would be the wisest option; she could keep an eye on him and keep the suspicion off herself. She sighed inwardly, feeling trapped under the pressure of the situation. She couldn't get his hopes up by going along with the search; that wouldn't be right.

"Andy," Sonic said, breaking her out of her thoughts once more. "Are you gonna help me or not?" His tone was serious and it sliced through the atmosphere like a hot knife through butter.

Amy frowned, frantically trying to make a decision. Should she help him? It wouldn't really be helping at all, though, would it?

.

"I… I'll help you," she said, suddenly thinking of something, "if you help me with my battle skills."

Now it was Sonic's turn to look surprised. He paused, as if taking a moment to make sense of her. "This wasn't really supposed to be a bargain," he said hesitantly.

"Yeah, but I really need some training, and who better to teach me than Sonic the Hedgehog himself?" Amy said, growing slightly in confidence. "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. That's fair, right? I could just as easily find her myself." She was, to some extent, impressed at herself for staying so collected but it felt unnatural to be deceiving Sonic. It was something that she'd practically never done before, and now she knew why. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

.

Sonic remained quiet, pondering her offer. His mouth became set into a line as he thought it over. For someone who loved speed so much, he was taking his time. "Okay," he said finally. "I've gotta admit, it's a good deal."

Amy was surprised. For a moment there, she thought he'd turn her down. Relief settled in her stomach, but something tugged at her conscience, reminding her that she could be digging herself into yet another hole.

.

"Shake on it?" Sonic said, holding out his hand.

Amy looked at it and clasped it with her own hand, shaking it firmly. For some reason, that single action added the weight of the promise to her shoulders, tainting her victory. Still, she would reveal herself to him eventually, and that would count, wouldn't it? For now, she would simply enjoy the fact that he'd agreed to teach her some battling techniques: something that she couldn't get him to do as herself.

.

She smiled at him and, thankfully, he smiled back. "So, when do we start?" she asked.

"Well I wanted to start looking first thing tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" she echoed. "Oh… Erm, okay."

"I could meet you at your place," he said. "Where do ya live?"

Amy pictured his potential reactions to the true answer. None of them were good. "In Mobius," she said, almost automatically. To her relief, he laughed.

"I kind of guessed that. What's your street?"

"How about we meet in the park?" she said quickly.

.

"Okay," he replied as they got up from the sand, but Amy didn't fail to notice the bafflement in his eyes. "Meet you there at ten?"

"Sure."

"Cool." He gave her a thumbs-up. "See ya tomorrow, Andy." He was gone as soon the final word escaped him, and Amy was free to let the tender smile form on her lips as she watched the blue streak fade into the distance. If only he knew what an effect he had on his 'new friend'.

.

She heard the sand shift behind her as somebody drew near.

"How'd it go?"

Amy turned around to see Rouge and smiled. "It went okay," she said. "He asked me to help him look for the real me."

"Oh? And what did you say to that?"

"I said that I would if he helped me with my battle skills. But, Rouge, he'd already tried finding me!" she cried happily, feeling the need to release all of her confined emotions to her friend. "He'd actually tried looking for me, Rouge! Can you believe it? He told me that himself!"

"Keep your hair on, Pinky," Rouge said, raising an eyebrow, but she smiled. "Anyway, while you were off talking to your knight in shining armour, everyone else has gone home."

.

Amy looked past Rouge, realising that she was right. The beach was empty, except for the few people clearing away their things. The sky was slowly becoming tinted with a navy blue, and the wind had already gained a slight chill.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Rouge commented, smirking, as if to read Amy's mind.

The rosy hedgehog felt her cheeks flush. "Yeah, well... Sonic has that effect on everybody!"

.

"Everybody, meaning you. Anyway, it's late and I need my beauty sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." Her wings sprung out from her shoulders, poised and ready to fly.

Amy grabbed her arm. "Wait, Rouge! I'm… doing something tomorrow. I'm helping Sonic. You know, to… search."

"Do you need any help?"

"No, thanks."

A curved smile crept up Rouge's lips. "Want some alone time, hmm?"

"Not like that!"

Rouge just grinned. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. I'll see you some other day, once you've had your fun," she purred with a wink. Then she flapped her wings and soared into the sky, leaving her hedgehog friend alone.

.

As soon as Amy got home, she opened all of her windows to try and ventilate her house. After a long and tiresome day, some much needed air was more than welcome. She trundled into her kitchen, deciding that a hot chocolate wouldn't hurt either. Having found the chocolate powder in the cupboard, she turned to look out of the window and froze. Sonic was walking down the path to her house. He was moving at a surprisingly normal speed but that didn't stop the panic that clutched her insides.

.

She ran to the light switch on the other side of the room and slammed it down. Her kitchen was swamped in darkness. She crept over to the window, holding her breath. Her crush was walking with his head down, thinking, and she thanked her lucky stars that he hadn't seemed to have noticed the lights being on in her house. He paused when he reached it and, finally, he looked up. He stood tall, his arms staying straight by his sides, his fists clenched slightly. The moonlight lit up the side of his face, making it seem as if he were glowing in a way that held Amy's gaze captive. His lime-green eyes scanned over the building as he stood quietly, his brow furrowed. Amy found herself mirroring his expression. What was he doing there? It was fairly late and he had no reason to visit her home seeing as - to his knowledge - she wasn't there.

.

Curiosity begged her to stay put and watch him but, for once, her brain won the battle. She made herself creep back to the counter, feeling her way with her hands and making a conscious effort to ignore the handsome blue hedgehog outside her house. She was fairly certain that Sonic couldn't see her in the gloominess of her kitchen, and the pitch-black sky probably helped, but paranoia insisted on following her around the room. Her hands came into contact with the mug she'd found for her hot chocolate, and she picked it up, determined to finish the task even in the dark. She turned to feel around for the kettle, when suddenly her head crashed into something solid.

.

She stumbled backwards, dropping the mug. It smashed against the floor. The sound echoed painfully in the fading silence and, thanks to the open window, drifted outside to the nearby ears of a particular blue hedgehog. He stiffened and his gaze snapped onto the kitchen window. Rubbing her head and wincing, Amy glanced up and noticed that she'd left the cupboard door open.

_Stupid, stupid_, stupid. She stayed crouched down, afraid to move a muscle.

.

Sonic was watching the house with his senses fully alert. "Amy?" he called.

She gripped the counter behind her, holding her breath. He didn't really think that she'd been at home all this time, did he? Then again, that smash had been loud. Too loud to ignore. And who else would be at her house?

"Who's there?" Sonic shouted, his voice suddenly hardening.

_Oh God, now he thinks I'm a burglar!_ Amy stepped back, hoping to leave the room before he got any closer, and crashed into a pile of saucepans.

.

The clatter was even louder than before, and she jumped. Sonic moved towards the house, his face the very picture of indignant anger.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Who's there?"

Panicked, Amy lurched out of the room and hurtled up the stairs. A furious banging was erupting from her front door. Each individual slam made her jump out of her skin and she shakily moved to her room, her ears strained. Sonic was pounding on her door, shouting angrily.

_This is crazy!_ she thought._ I feel like a criminal in my own home!_

.

She clenched her fists, frantically trying to find a plan of action. Maybe she could hide? No, he'd find her. Perhaps he would just give up. Sonic the hedgehog… giving up? She almost laughed at the idea. Suddenly, the sound of splintering wood reached her ears. Her front door was cracking open: a direct result of the powerful blows from her hero. He was breaking in.

.

Amy backed away from the door, imagining him storming into the house, hunting for the supposed intruder. She could picture him racing up the stairs and finding 'Andy' there. She could practically see the energy that would be behind his angered eyes, fading to shock, then to confusion and an ache of betrayal as he would try to understand what Andy Rhodes was doing in Amy's home. It would ruin everything. All of her careful planning and narrowly-avoided disasters would go to waste. She would be forced to reveal herself, and that could not happen. She'd worked too hard to lose everything now.

.

Her gaze darted to the window. The door had apparently taken its final strike as a mighty smash could be heard, followed by the scraps of wood scattering hollowly on the floor. Amy hurriedly scanned over the window, contemplating leaping out and onto the tree that stood right outside her room. Perhaps that was a bit excessive. The unmistakable sound of sneaker-clad feet tearing through her house sent her adrenaline racing. It would be a matter of seconds before Sonic found her. Excessive or not, she needed to get out of there _now_.

* * *

><p><strong>Do the cliffhangers never end? :D<br>I hope that I managed to convey the excitement of this chapter properly; things are supposed to get more exciting from now on, so fingers crossed you'll enjoy the upcoming chapters (once I've planned them - I might get stuck again).  
>Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed that, I look forward to hearing your feedback! :)<strong>


	12. The Search Begins

**I cannot apologise enough for the stupidly long update. All I will say is that something came up and I had a lot to deal with, but with the Christmas break updates should be a bit quicker (thought I can't promise). This is definitely the most difficult story I've ever written, mostly because it's not properly planned, so I'll have to work on that.  
>A huge thank you to <em>Skyelara, Super-Shadow1248, ChillyNight, awesomesauce, Mi, doctorcookiemonster, Romantic Person, IOwnSonicX, Lightning Eyes, hot pink123, Juyune, Kaikai Kitsune, November Ember, SmileRen, Hollie the hedgehog, sonamyrox, Miss Topaz, Zebra, Bluey, sonamy1, Hazel the Rabbit, Alexandra the leopard, Code1295, ALPHA116, Self-Appointed Critic, IHeartSonAmy <em>and _Danielle Fenton._ Wow. Just... wow. 27 reviews? 27! Thank you guys so much! I had no idea until now how many people are actually reading this, and I know that I'm not great at updating, so it means a lot to me. :) I cannot believe that! You guys are seriously awesome! THANK YOU!  
>Somehow I doubt this was worth a month's wait but I'll leave that to your judgement... (I'm still reeling from the number of reviews :D Did I say thank you?)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12 – The Search Begins<strong>

Amy slid the window up as far as it would go and climbed onto the ledge, ignoring the night-time air that chilled her breath. The tree was right in front of her. She crouched, and placing her arms behind her for leverage, launched herself onto the tree, frantically grabbing at branches to keep herself from falling. Stray twigs scratched her arms as she clambered to the other side of the tree, mentally congratulating herself for learning how to climb it when she was younger. She instinctively reached for branches that she knew the positions of, making her way down and landing nimbly on the ground.

.

The lights of her house were switched on in almost every room; Sonic had quickly checked each one for the so-called trespasser. Amy ran into the cover of bushes that formed the borderline between her garden and the forest, straining her eyes in effort to catch a glimpse of the blue blur racing through her home. He must have reached her bedroom already, as the lights snapped on the second she came to a halt.

.

His silhouette could be seen quickly moving around the room as he searched. Suddenly, he moved to the window and Amy winced. How could she have even hoped that he wouldn't notice that? It was wide open and the curtains were ruffling by the breeze. The male hedgehog was now leaning out and surveying the surroundings. Amy impulsively moved deeper into the bushes, trying to avoid his gaze as if it were a laser beam. She was really beginning to wish that she'd been more careful.

.

The unwavering determination and anger in Sonic's eyes would have attracted Amy in any other situation; usually it would be aimed at Eggman for hurting someone or threatening the town, and it would make her swoon. But as it was, with the force of his glare meant for her, it was intimidating. Needless to say that part of her was also outraged that he'd broken into her home and ruined her door. Where was she supposed to sleep now? Obviously he would know if she tried to fix it and now that he was suspicious she couldn't afford to take any more chances. And now that she thought about it, if Sonic thought there was a burglar, wouldn't he be trying to give chase by now?

.

As if on cue, a thump resounded from the ground as Sonic jumped from the window and landed deftly on the soil below. For once Amy didn't even wait to see what he'd do next; she had enough sense not to stay in one place. Without wasting another second, she ran. She bolted through the bushes, throwing herself into the thick and springy branches and stumbling out onto the path on the other side. It was times like these when she cursed Sonic's speed, as she was forced to think on her feet: something that had never been her strong point. It would be pointless to carry on running; he would find her easily and then she'd have some explaining to do, but it would be risky to try and pretend that she was there for another reason.

.

Before she'd had a chance to think about it, a rustle of leaves and a burst of subconscious influence made her hurry as far down the path as she dared, nearly losing her balance as she stopped abruptly. She turned to face the way she'd come, glancing towards her house and trying to iron out the worry from her expression. This was it. It was all or nothing. Just as she'd anticipated, Sonic raced through the bushes and onto the path, skidding to a halt when he saw her, surprise plastered onto his expression. She made herself pause exaggeratedly, as if she'd just noticed him.

.

"Andy?" Sonic said. "What are you doing here?"

"I walk this way to get home and I thought I might find some clues on Amy's whereabouts," she answered, staying as close the truth as possible. "You?"

"I was running through here when I heard a crash inside her house." He got straight to the point, as always. "I'm pretty sure it was a robber but when I went inside to catch him he must have jumped out of the window," he said, his fists clenching slightly. "Did you see anything?"

Amy carefully crafted her expression into shock, ignoring the fact that Sonic hadn't been completely truthful himself. He hadn't been running. In fact, he'd been standing there staring at her house, let alone running. "Someone was in her house? That's awful!" she cried. "I heard some rustling in the leaves but I didn't think anything of it. He probably got away."

.

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, well I'll see about that," he growled, preparing to run.

Amy blocked his path, almost smiling in relief that he didn't suspect her. "Just leave it. I doubt he got a chance to steal anything anyway."

The male hedgehog relaxed, but the frown remained on his face. "He probably didn't," he agreed. He glanced back at Amy's house. "I guess I'd better find a way to fix the door. It's just a pile of wood since I busted it and I don't think Amy would be very happy to see it like that."

.

_I'm not very happy about it at all_, Amy thought bitterly, suddenly wanting to see what state he'd left her house in. She fought to staunch the flow of images that rushed to mind of her door as a mound of rubble. "Maybe you could board it up?" she suggested, though her mind strongly protested at her poor house looking like a building site.

"Maybe," he said. "I'll figure something out. We're still on for tomorrow, right?"

She nodded. "The park at ten."

"Right. See ya tomorrow, buddy." Then he was gone in a rush of blue.

.

Amy moved her hand under her sunglasses to massage the sides of her head, sighing deeply. This was getting ridiculous. Pretending to be somebody of a different gender was hard enough, but she'd made deals that she needed to uphold, she was going to spend the next day searching for herself, she'd been run out of her own home and now she couldn't even go back and sleep in it. Her plan hadn't exactly been simple but she'd never considered even for a second that it would get so complicated.

.

The only thing that gave her a small piece of mind was that Sonic had just called her 'buddy'. That was some progress, at least. She folded her arms, wondering what on earth she was supposed to do next. She could go and stay with Tails; he knew 'Andy' well enough, but it would be risky, seeing as he was so close with Sonic. In any normal situation she would turn to Cream, but of course that was out of the question. And as for Knuckles, did he even have a house?

.

So that left Rouge. Amy knew roughly where the ivory bat lived; her apartment was somewhere on the outskirts of Mobius. The cerise hedgehog chewed the corner of her lip, mentally planning the route to her friend. It wasn't too far, and although it was dark, her male persona boosted her confidence. Thankfully, she'd been right, and after ten minutes of walking she was outside Rouge's door, knocking hesitantly. There was no sound from inside the apartment, and for a moment Amy considered whether or not Rouge was asleep. It was fairly late but Rouge was known for her love of the nightlife. She went to knock again when the door swung open, and Amy was reminded that Rouge took her own sweet time doing things.

.

The pearly-white bat stood leaning against the doorframe, fully awake, but looking surprised at Amy's arrival none-the-less. "Pinky," she said. "I didn't know you were a night-time kind of girl."

Amy almost laughed. "I'm not," she replied tiredly. "But Sonic destroyed my front door so I can't stay at my house anymore."

Rouge's eyes widened as she allowed the hedgehog to enter, closing the door behind her. "And this happened how?"

They moved into the living room, Amy quietly observing the modern furnishings and stylish wallpaper. A display cabinet was in the corner of the room, exhibiting the latest addition of Rouge's jewel collection, no doubt stolen. "He heard me inside my house and thought I was a burglar, so he broke in."

.

There was a pause, and eventually Rouge smirked. "Well, you can't say it doesn't get interesting," she remarked.

As Amy continued to explain the events of the night, Rouge listened attentively, making the occasional comment. Even as Amy was speaking, she was distantly marvelling at Rouge's patience, as she had only recently seen this side to the older girl. When she'd finished her story, Rouge sat back in her seat, with that same amused spark in her eyes.

"My, my, the things you get up to, Pinky," she said. "Seeing as you're pretty much homeless now, I'm guessing you want to stay with me?"

"Only if I can," Amy answered. "But I can't exactly go anywhere else."

Rouge nodded, her eyes closed. "True. I suppose there is some room in the bath. It's either that or the hallway-"

"_Rouge_!"

"Calm down, Amy, I was joking. There's a spare room next to mine," she said, clearly enjoying teasing her friend.

"_Thank_ you," Amy replied stiffly.

.

Rouge chuckled, getting up to show Amy around. She led her through the apartment, mostly pointing out gems and making it clear that they were out of bounds. Amy had always known that Rouge was a jewel thief but she had no idea just how much the bat had stolen. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds; Rouge had them all, hidden away in every compartment possible. Amy shook her head in wonder. It amazed her that Rouge had never been caught.

.

The two of them stayed up for a few more hours, mostly chatting, before deciding to call it a night. Amy paused in the doorway to her room, smiling at her friend. "Thanks for letting me stay here, Rouge," she said warmly. "I don't know where else I could have gone."

"No problem." Once again Rouge wore a genuine smile, and she gave a gentle wave before retiring to bed.

.***

Amy reached the park ten minutes early the next morning, and she was surprised to see Sonic already there. He was leaning against a tree, looking thoughtful. She sauntered over to him, quickly adjusting her baseball cap.

"Yo," she said.

He grinned. "Hey."

"You're early."

"So are you."

She giggled, before quickly covering it with a cough and forcing a deeper, more masculine laugh. "Yeah, so, erm… where do we start?"

.

Sonic scratched his ear awkwardly. "Well, that was kind of why I asked you to help me," he said. "Where would you look for Amy?"

She considered. Where would she usually be found? "At the mall?" she suggested.

"I checked there, loads of times. We need to try somewhere else. What's her favourite place?"

Now there was an interesting question. "I guess," she said slowly, "it's Emerald Coast. But we were there yesterday. And you do realise that she could have gone to another country, right? I mean, if she really wanted a time out…"

.

Something in Sonic's aura grew dim. "Do you really think she would have gone that far?" he asked, his ears lowered slightly.

Amy felt her herself fidget with the zip on her trouser pocket. "I… Maybe not. No, that was a silly thing to say. Forget that."

Suddenly he straightened again. "Don't get me wrong, if you think that she's gone far away then I'm more than willing to search harder," he said fervently. "I'll search the whole planet if that's what it takes. We've got to find her, Andy."

.

Amy's eyes widened. "You… you really want to find her, don't you?" she breathed.

His cheeks became tinged with red and he looked away. "I just want to find out what this is all about, for everyone's sake. Cream's really worried."

But are you? Amy wondered, wishing with all of her heart that the answer was yes.

"Anyway," he said, "where should we look first? And I won't run while we're looking. It'll be a proper search."

Amy smiled. "We'll see how long that lasts. I think we should just look around Mobius in general, first of all. The park, the town centre, the beach, the nature reserves: all those places."

Sonic nodded, his mood significantly lifting. "Okay," he grinned. "Let's go!"

.

The two hedgehogs spent the next few hours scouring the park and the beach for clues, or at least Sonic was while Amy pretended. He seemed much more cheerful than he had been before and he was back to his usual self: making witty comments and messing around with a smile on his face. The town centre took a lot longer to search than the other places, and to Amy's relief, he took it as an opportunity to chat rather than to become negative. They'd even got into a game of 'Would You Rather?', and Sonic always had the most interesting questions.

.

"Would you rather," he asked, "take out your own eye with a cocktail stick or spend the day with Eggman?"

Amy laughed. "What does the day with Eggman involve?"

"You have to help him pick out an outfit for every day of the year and watch him try them all on and you've got to successfully act as if you like them all!" He flashed her an evil grin.

"Ew! The cocktail stick, by far!" she cried, unable to stop herself from giggling. "Now you've got the image of Eggman in a dress stuck in my head!"

.

"Aw, don't be so mean," Sonic teased. "I bet he looks…" He shuddered. "Ugh, I was gonna say 'gorgeous' but I couldn't bring myself to do it!"

They collapsed into a fit of laughter, attracting the attention of several passers-by. Amy held a hand over her mouth to muffle her helpless giggles while Sonic had no shame and clutched his sides, sniggering. A trace of apprehension reminded her that she wasn't being very masculine and she struggled to control her laughter. At least Sonic didn't seem to have noticed; he'd only just calmed down himself.

.

"Ah, Sonic," she chuckled, finally regaining her persona, "I didn't know you were so funny, dude!"

"Amy never told you about my astounding wit and overall brilliance?" he said, smirking.

"It must have slipped her mind."

They shared a smile, but something in Sonic's expression let slip that he had something on his mind. There was a brief moment of quiet, and Amy sensed awkwardness resurfacing before Sonic broke it.

"What else did Amy tell you about me?" he asked, his voice slightly quieter.

"A lot of things," she said nonchalantly.

.

He released a nervous chuckle. "Good or bad?"

"Good… Well, mostly good."

"Did she mentioned my, erm, tendency to… you know…" He shifted uneasily.

Amy folded her arms, immediately knowing what he meant. "Ditch her?" she said tersely.

He deflated at that. "I think 'ditch' is a pretty strong word," he protested.

A burning rush of bitter comments emerged in Amy's mind. "Don't you think leaving someone in your dust is ditching them?" she demanded. "Abandoning them time after time? What about breaking promises?"

.

"Hey," he warned, his eyes narrowing. "That's not fair. You've only ever heard her side of the story. And it's not like I don't feel guilty about it."

The atmosphere was slowly turning sour. Amy frowned, feeling guilty herself. She hadn't wanted to upset him; she just needed him to understand what she felt. That was, after all, the purpose of this whole plan, wasn't it? "Sorry," she said. "You're right, that wasn't fair. It's just that I'm Amy's friend and, you know, I hear about stuff."

Sonic looked down. His ears lowered but his fists were still clenched. "It's okay," he said after a while. "After what Amy's told you it's no wonder you think that."

.

Amy wanted to kick herself. One minute they'd been chatting and laughing and she'd ruined it the next with her childish comments. It didn't matter to her if Sonic said that it was 'okay' because there was no way of knowing if he meant it. "Sonic, I really am sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have said that. Amy hasn't really been telling me anything_ bad_ about you."

"Don't worry about it. It is true that I'm not exactly open-armed towards her, and if she was here she'd probably smack me 'round the head with her hammer." His gaze fell to his hands as a small smile graced his lips, and Amy felt relief flood her body.

"So… we're cool?" she asked cautiously.

He looked at her, the smile lingering on his face. "We're cool."

* * *

><p><strong>Ooh Sonic got annoyed for a moment there.. Does anyone else kinda love it when he's angry? xD<br>Anyway, thanks again to everyone reading this story. I do appreciate it and I wish it wasn't taking so long but just remember that I NEVER forget about it, I am working on it.  
>Thank you for your lovely reviews. I love hearing your feedback :)<strong>


	13. Reminiscence

**You all know the drill. Exams suck. Thanks to _ChillyNight, IHeartSonAmy, Super-Shadow1248, Miss Topaz, Hollie the Hegdgehog, Danielle Fenton, Lunar Sapphire, XoxoSonamy4440oxoX, doctorcookiemonster, DrianeTheHedgehog, November Ember, Mi, RachieFly, Juyune, Romantic Person, Skyelara _and_ Kaikai Kitusune. _All I can say is wow. You guys are so lovely, thank you so much :') I'm having to juggle a lot lately, and I know a lot of people are too, and your reviews just make it all so worthwhile. Thank you! So hopefully a mid-week update will please you, though I won't update over the weekend because I'm away and exams are still on the way, but I do try my best. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13 – Reminiscence<strong>

For the rest of the day, the two hedgehogs wandered through the town, visiting all of the places where Amy could usually be found. They'd been trundling through every single part of Mobius and asking members of the public if they'd seen anything. Thankfully, they'd managed to have some fun while doing it. Amy had been worried that Sonic would close himself off, but that wasn't the case.

.

They'd been chatting for hours and Amy was feeling happier than she'd been for a long time. Everything was going smoothly apart from the occasional hitch where Amy would do or say something stupid that would almost reveal her identity. They were few and far between, though at one point she'd walked into the ladies' toilets looking like a boy. She was embarrassed to say the least, and Sonic laughed his head off for a good ten minutes. For many reasons, she decided it was best not to go into the men's toilet and to wait until she got home.

.

Aside from that little incident, she'd enjoyed the time with Sonic and the two of them had ended up talking about almost everything one could think of. Amy learnt so many things about him that she hadn't known before. They were small details but they were what made her feel like she knew him all the more. She'd found out that his favourite colour was in fact blue, when she'd thought it was red the whole time she'd known him, seeing as his sneakers were red. When she told him so he replied that it was a good point but he chose red only because blue sneakers would have looked really weird on him.

.

With every little fact she learnt about him, the happier and more curious she felt, whether it was that he secretly loved flowers or that blood freaked him out. She discovered that he didn't like rain not only because it was wet, but because it looked too much like tears. Amy had never thought of Sonic being so sentimental, though she remembered him saying once before that he hated to see people cry. He was by far the most mysterious and captivating person she knew, and she was more than happy to simply listen to him talk about himself.

.

Of course, in turn, she'd told him things about herself. Things that she was sure he didn't know. Things that she couldn't have told him when she was Amy Rose; he would never have stopped to listen. She'd even told him why she loved romance films so much, even if it was weird for her male persona. She'd explained that it was nice to escape into a world where happily ever after comes at the end of the story, and where no matter what happens between the characters, their love overcomes everything. She didn't care if it seemed unnatural for a boy to say that; this was her chance for Sonic to get to know her. Naturally, he'd been surprised.

.

"I don't think I've ever heard of a guy who loves rom-coms," he'd told her, raising an eyebrow and grinning. "Or at least, not as much as you do. But… it's cool that you're not afraid to admit it. I respect that."

Amy had smiled brightly, basking in the strengthening friendship between them. Although, she hadn't expected what he'd said next.

"You know, with your obsession with romance and hatred for horror movies, you remind me of Amy."

"Hah, yeah, I guess we are kind of similar after growing up together," she'd nervously replied. How did he know that she hated horror movies? She'd always thought that he knew nothing about her, but lately she'd started to wonder…  
>Still, there were definitely things that he did not know until she'd told him today.<p>

.

Amy had never spent this much time with Sonic before, and it only made her want to do it more often. She'd never known what it was like to be around him, not properly. It wasn't that he completely avoided her. He did talk to her every now and then but she knew, every time, that it would be a matter of minutes before he'd get uncomfortable and rush off. It was as if she could see the uneasiness inside him, like a huge wave, rising and rising until it got too much for him. It hurt so much when he did that, but Amy was trying not to think about it.

.

This was different. Here she was, joking around with him and having a great time. She'd learnt so much about him in a matter of hours, but the only thing that she desperately wanted to know was why he ran from her. If only she could stop thinking, _Was I that bad to hang out with?_

Despite that, she was determined to have a good time with him, and she did. Every time she learned something new about him, every time he smiled at her or she heard his laughter, she found herself falling in love with him all over again. And she was loving every second of it.

.

She stayed in a permanent state of bliss throughout the entire day, right until they reached their final destination. They came to a halt in Silver Valley, and Sonic frowned.

"Andy, we've looked all over town and there's no sign of her," he said. "We've asked tons of people and none of them have seen her for weeks. It's like she's just disappeared."

"Maybe we were just asking the wrong people," she replied, feeling guilt creep up on her.

.

Sonic sighed. "That's not the point. We've been searching all day. We must have checked Emerald Coast at least a thousand times! What other places could we possibly have checked?"

Amy was silent. Perhaps it was adding insult to injury that was she'd been beside him the whole time. What was she supposed to say? Sonic had a point: they'd looked practically everywhere. There weren't any more places, were there? Unless… Oh, she'd completely forgotten that one... "Sonic," she said quietly. "I just remembered… Emerald Coast isn't Amy's favourite place."

"Then what is?" he asked, surprised.

"I'll show you."

.

Without another word, Amy made her way through the trees and climbed up a small, rocky hill with Sonic following closely behind. She pushed aside branches from overgrown plants, stepping carefully into a clearing. She heard the crunch of Sonic's footsteps behind her, and then a sharp intake of breath as he realised where they were.

.

"This is… Amy's favourite place?" he said in awe.

Amy turned back to him, her eyes shining. "You recognise it?"

His eyes moved over the scenery, absorbing everything. The trees, the lake, the wild flowers that were sprouting from the grass and that one spot in the middle of the clearing that held so much importance for the two of them. "Yeah," he said distantly, still taking it in. "This is…" A fond smile appeared on his lips. "This is Never Lake… where me and Amy met."

.

Amy nodded, thrilled that he'd remembered.

"Did she tell you that this is her favourite place?" he asked.

"Yeah. It always has been, or at least, it has since she met you," she said, watching his eyes meet hers, anticipating his reaction.

He broke the gaze after barely a second had passed and looked away, slightly flustered. "That's so typical of her," he said, though his voice was quiet and humbled. He was honoured that the place that Amy valued the most was where they met but it clearly made him uncomfortable, and Amy just couldn't understand why. He shook his head, forcing a chuckle. "I guess this is the first place that I should've looked in." He sighed.

.

Amy sat down, hoping that he'd follow suit, and he did. He continued to observe the landscape, and Amy could picture the rush of memories flooding his mind. "What are you thinking?" she questioned him softly.

He shrugged. "The usual. You know, running, chilli dogs, kicking Eggman's butt," he laughed.

She made herself laugh along with him but she didn't believe him for a moment. His mind was obviously elsewhere; she just wished that she knew where that was.

.

Silence surfaced between them. Amy frowned, exasperated, wondering how many times these awkward silences would arise. The gentle wind ruffled their quills as both hedgehogs replayed the same memory in their mind. They'd been fairly young when they'd met but Amy had been insistent that she was destined to meet the blue hero, so she'd set out to find him. Following her tarot cards had brought her to Never Lake and there she'd seen him: the boy that she would chase after for years to come.

.

It was just as vivid now as it was then. Sonic could still remember the way it felt when Amy first threw her arms around him, announcing that she was biggest fan. It brought a smile to his lips as he pictured himself as a young boy, extremely embarrassed that a girl was touching him. His cheeks had flushed and he'd stared at the girl clinging to his arm, wondering what on earth was happening.

.

He remembered being unable to move, both shocked and entranced by the pink hedgehog before him. He remembered staring at her, open-mouthed, his mind spinning. He'd never seen such a pretty girl before. She wore extremely brightly coloured clothes and her quills stuck out in different directions, but her peculiar sense of style just made her more intriguing. She was beaming at him, her eyes sparkling. He didn't think it was possible for someone to look as if they were glowing, but somehow she was.

.

She was talking to him, clasping her hands together excitedly and telling him about the effort she'd gone through just to meet him, and little Sonic could only stare. He couldn't quite get his mind to work properly but he did hear her tell him her name. Amy Rose. He'd mulled over those two words over and over again, thinking how much they suited her, though with the way he was gaping at her it probably just looked like he didn't understand. He refused to speak in case he let slip what was on his mind. _'She's so pretty…'_

.

He often wondered what he would have done at that moment if Dr. Eggman hadn't shown up. In seconds, the girl was snatched away from him by a metal claw, and the joy in her eyes snapped into terror. She screamed and reached out for him, pleading him to rescue her. That was all it took. His adrenaline kicked in, his mind whirled into motion and his feet started running before he'd even told them to. It was just like every other time he would have to free her from Eggman's clutches. The one thought going through his head was always the same: save her. And with that single motive, he had enough power to do anything.

.

Sonic's heart suddenly ached, interrupting the memory and dragging him back into the present, as he pictured her. It was strange, but he'd never really had the chance to miss her before; she'd never been away from him for so long. He didn't think it would affect him this much, but it was really troubling him. He was overwhelmed with a sudden urge to see her face, to hear her voice, to hold her and apologise for acting like he didn't care…

.

He clutched the grass below him, trying to shake off his thoughts. He didn't need her like that; it was just odd not having her around. Still, it was silly to brood over things he couldn't change, and it wasn't like he really ignored her, was it? He treated her just as he would his other friends, though he did sometimes feel nervous, and then he'd feel the need to run… But that was just him being Sonic. It wasn't a big deal, and Amy was never really that upset over it, was she? That wasn't why she left… was it?

.

Amy stole a glance at her hero, surprised to his body tensed, his fists closed around clumps of grass. What could be bothering him so much?

"Andy…" he said, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes were still locked onto his sneakers. "Did… Did Amy tell you about anything that was… upsetting her? Any reason why she might have left?"

"No…"

Sonic bit his lip, his eyes narrowing. "Then… I might know why." He swallowed thickly, feeling almost as uncomfortable as he did with Amy herself. "I think it might be… my fault."

.

"What?" Amy cried. "No, Sonic, it's not-"

"I think it is," he said firmly, forcing his gaze off the ground, "because the last time I saw her… Well, I… I was distant with her. I mean, I sort of ran from her and maybe… maybe that's why she left."

Amy was overcome with the impulse to hug him tightly and reassure him that it wasn't his fault, though in a way, she supposed, it almost was. She was carrying out this crazy scheme just to form a stronger bond between them, thanks to his urges to rush off and leave her. But right now, that didn't matter to her in the slightest.

.

Sonic's lime-green eyes were soft and exposed where he'd finally released his barriers and opened up to her. It was so touching and yet heart-breaking to see him so vulnerable; she nearly wanted to cry. To think that he blamed himself for her disappearance, when he was usually so carefree… "Sonic… don't blame yourself," she pleaded. "Besides, it's not the first time that that's happened."

"I know, so it was the tip of the iceberg," he said.

.

Amy paused. It was so hard to sit there and attempt to comfort him while restraining herself from throwing her arms around him. Although, she would admit that a tiny part of her wanted him to feel a bit guilty. "Look," she said slowly, "I'll be honest with you. When you run from Amy… it really gets to her. She gets upset because she doesn't understand why you do it. She just wants you to treat her like… like you care."

He stiffened. "It's not that I don't care about her," he objected. "It's just that I feel kind of awkward sometimes."

.

"Why? She tries so hard to make you happy."

"I know that," he said, "but when she acts all… you know, starry-eyed around me, I just… It makes me feel nervous."

"But why?"

"I don't know," he said, his voice rising as he became more flustered. "Wouldn't you feel like that?"

"Well…" She considered. If Sonic followed her around she'd love it. But then, if Sonic didn't return her affections that would explain why it made him uncomfortable… No, he did care about her. Perhaps he just needed a little push to admit his feelings, and that was why she was here. "I guess I would," she said eventually. "Anyway, forget about that.

.

"It does upset her when you react like that but I'm sure that it's not why she left. She must have had a good reason to, and I know that she wouldn't want you to blame yourself for it. She'd never want to upset you. So, lighten up." She lightly punched his arm. "Dude," she added. To her intense relief, a smile stretched across his lips.

"Okay, homeboy," he laughed. Then he allowed sincerity to sink into his gaze once again. "Thanks," he said. "You're a good friend, Andy."

.

Amy felt her heart soar. That one phrase echoed in her mind.

'You're a good friend…'  
>An unstoppable grin worked its way onto her face, as her insides danced. He'd called her a good friend. He'd opened up to her, he'd told her things that he'd kept close to his heart, and now he truly thought of her as a close friend: someone who he could confide in. She could hardly believe it.<p>

.

All of her problems from the past few weeks were suddenly worth the trouble, because she'd finally achieved one of her goals. She and Sonic had grown so much closer, and she was convinced that that wasn't going to change, even when all of this would be over. The only problem was that he would undoubtedly be angry when he found out she'd been lying to him.

.

Next to injustice, deception was at the top of Sonic's 'hates' list. He couldn't stand dishonesty, and part of Amy was terrified that he'd never trust her again. But, he would forgive her, wouldn't he? When he saw how much she'd improved their relationship, he couldn't possibly hold it against her. Or at least, she hoped he wouldn't.

.

She beamed at him and rose to her feet. "So are you," she said earnestly. "Hanging out with you is… awesome." She offered him her hand and hauled him up beside her, and he returned her grin.

"Thanks." He stretched out his arms, heaving another sigh. "Well, when do you want to try again?" he asked.

"Erm… maybe… I was thinking…" She faltered. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I was actually hoping that tomorrow you could start training me. You know, fighting skills and stuff. You've got to hold up your side of the deal, too."

"Oh. Right," he said, unsure. Then he shook his head as if to wake himself up. "Silver Valley at twelve?"

"Okay!"

.

Amy sent him a thumbs-up. He laughed, mirroring her.

"I think I'm rubbing off on ya," he remarked.

"Maybe just a little bit," she giggled. "But that's not so bad, is it?"

A mysterious smile captured Sonic's mouth. "Not at all."

* * *

><p><strong>^_^ Ah, I honestly can't wait to write their battle practice! But... my lips are zipped as to what it entails ;)<br>Anyway, thanks again for reading this, it means so much. Your reviews are appreciated. :)**


	14. Temptation

**Huge, HUGE thank yous go out to: ****_Comrade Athelwine, Super-Shadow1248, Skyelara, IHeartSonAmy, Juliix, hot pink123, SmileRen, SilverDawn, Driane, sonicathehedgehog, Kaikai Kitsune (I spelt it right this time :P), Mi123, Lightning Eyes, ChillyNight, hollie the hedgehog, IOwnSonicX, BlueyO, Resplandent, Romantic Person, Alexandra the Leopard, Shadamy rles, Terranaut, Miss Topaz, ShadAmy4Eva, November Ember, shirinuigoddeviantart _****and ****_RaeRaethehedgehog. ...  
><em>****I actually cannot believe how many of you there are. Jeez I LOVE YOU GUYS! :'D Thank you so much, it means a lot to me, it really does. It makes me smile so much when I see people enjoying what I write. Sorry about how long this A/N is but I'm actually amazed at how lucky I am. I forgot how many people read this! **

**Anyway, thank you. Thank you thank you thank you :') Oh and one more thing - you all seemed to be looking into the ending of chapter 13, which is exactly the response I was hoping for, but now I'm kinda worried that it won't be what you think it is. It's not exactly a massive secret, it was just a sort of a hint. A hint of... things to consider, let's say. ;) You'll see. Right, I'll let you go now ^^' Enjoy the chapter! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14 - Temptation<strong>

The spring sunshine was at its peak, and Amy was glad of the shade from the tree beside her. The silence was calming. Seeing as Silver Valley was a fairly desolate place, it was always peaceful. She closed her eyes and inhaled the smell of the grass, smiling contentedly. Already, she was anticipating the rush of wind that would announce Sonic's arrival. Her smile grew as she pictured the day ahead, all of it being spent with Sonic. Being with him was intoxicating; she was excited to see his face even for a minute. Not to mention that she'd improve her battle skills, and then she'd really impress him.

.

She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he saw Amy Rose fight like a pro, even _without_ her hammer. Though of course, that would be when she decided to drop her façade. She could already sense the rush of adrenaline that would come from fighting Eggman's robots, the power she'd feel when she would destroy each one with a single blow…

Suddenly she wheeled on the tree behind her, hopping from foot to foot in a fighting stance. She imagined glowing eyes beaming from the middle of the bark, and huge mechanical arms sprouting from the trunk. A pitiful excuse for an enemy for the invincible Amy. "Don't mess with _me_," she said, wearing a cocky grin to rival Sonic's. "Just because I don't have a weapon on me you think I can't beat you?"

.

The tree remained motionless.

"Too bad. I guess I'll have to prove you wrong!" She aimed a kick at the trunk, picturing denting mental. "Take that!" she crowed. She could imagine Eggman's shock as she would obliterate his robots effortlessly, while Sonic would watch her, awed. "You're going down!" Amy clenched her hand into a fist and brought her arm back, bracing herself. She smirked, before throwing a punch into the tree.

_Ow_.

Her knuckles throbbed as a searing pain raced through her arm. She jumped back, yelping. Since when where trees so hard? And why did she feel like she'd done that before? Ah yes, the robots, when she'd first tried to fight without her hammer.

_That was clever_. _You think I'd learn from my mistakes…_

.

Amy clamped her eyes shut and held her poor hand, wincing. "Stupid tree," she groaned.

"You know, from where I'm standing, it didn't look like the tree did anything to you."

Her eyes flew open at the voice. Of course, as fate was always so cruel to her, there was Sonic the Hedgehog, looking very amused. The burning pain in her arm was instantly forgotten as embarrassment left heat flaring in her cheeks instead. His eyes were laughing even though he was managing to hold it in, but Amy was reassured by the gentleness in his gaze that it wasn't unkind. Instead his expression held a knowing look, with a hint of something else that immediately relaxed her.

.

She quickly let go of her hand, readjusting her sunglasses and trying to act like it had never happened. "Yeah, well, you know, I was just trying to get some practice in before you got here," she babbled.

His smile widened. "On a tree?" Seeing her glare, he softened his expression. "Seriously, though - is your hand okay?"

"Of course it is," she said, folding her arms. "It doesn't hurt at all. My hands may as well be made of steel."

"Okay then, let's put your fists of steel to the test," he grinned, poising on his toes in front of her, holding his arms, ready for her to make an attack.

"Wait, what am I supposed to do?" she asked, taken by surprise at the sudden start to their session but smiling at his spontaneity. She was feeling more cheerful by the second; just happy with being near Sonic.

.

"Punch me," he said, shifting his weight between his toes, looking confident.

"_What?_"

"Punch me. I need to test your strength."

"But… I can't hurt you!" she protested, horrified at the thought. She may have used her hammer in times of anger but she'd never really tried to hurt him. It was unthinkable.

He raised an eyebrow, confused. He was looking at her as if she was insane. Amy bit her lip.

.

Of course. She'd forgotten that boys didn't mind attacking each other. She'd seen Sonic and Knuckles fight all the time but she'd never considered it herself. "I mean… Fine, if you think you can take me," she said, forcing a feeble smirk. "I wouldn't want you to lose an arm or something."

"I'm sure I won't die," Sonic laughed. "Go on."

Amy held her breath. Stepping towards him, she tried to look fierce, and gently tapped his arm with her fist.

Sonic blinked. "Seriously?" he said. "That was it? Come on, Andy, harder. Punch me as hard as you can."

"Are you sure?" Amy asked, trying not to sound too concerned. Oh, the thought of inflicting pain on her hero…

"Yes. A hundred per cent sure. Give it all you've got."

"Okay," she murmured hesitantly.

.

Mustering all of her strength and digging her feet into the ground for balance, Amy smashed her fist into his arm. She felt her knuckles make solid contact with his body as a fairly loud thump was heard. Sonic briefly staggered backwards, surprised at her power.

"Whoa!" he cried. A smile pulled at his lips. "That's more like it! Jeez, you're pretty strong!"

She jumped back, relieved at his smile and glowing from his praise but feeling guilty nonetheless. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

"No, it's fine. I asked you to punch me." He chuckled. "You're stronger than I thought, but I can see why you think you're out of practice. When you punch, you end up hurting yourself in the process, right?"

.

Amy nodded, embarrassed.

"That's probably because you're not keeping your wrist straight," he told her. "Here, let me show you how to do it properly." He stood beside her and took hold of her arm.

Her heart pounded at his touch and she felt her face gain heat again, knowing that Sonic would never get so close to the real her. She could feel his body warmth merging with hers, embracing her, putting her at ease and making her nervous at the same time.

.

"All right," he said. "Clench your fist, but not too hard; that just stiffens your arm."

She did as he said, trying not to feel dizzy from the small distance between them.

"Now thrust it forward, keeping your wrist straight," he instructed, moving with her. "And don't completely straighten your arm - that would hurt in a forceful punch." He guided her arm into a punching motion, repeating the movement a few times. "Like this, see?"

She nodded, ignoring a flicker of disappoint as he released her, and continued to practise the motion. She could feel his eyes on her, assessing her movements carefully, and she knew that it was making her blush. She just hoped that he couldn't see that.

.

After a while Sonic asked, "Hey, are you okay? You look kind of red. Is it too hot out here?"

His comment only made Amy feel more flustered. She willed her cheeks to cool down, while thanking her lucky stars that Sonic hadn't taken her reddened cheeks in another way. "Oh… Erm… a little, yeah," she mumbled. "But it's okay, I'll be all right in a minute."

"All righty then!" he said cheerfully. "Let's try another type now."

.

Sonic went on to teach Amy a number of different, basic punching moves, and she picked them up fairly well. She was enjoying herself immensely, ecstatic in his company, and though it might have been her imagination she was sure he looked just as happy. The purpose of the exercise was to become a better fighter but Amy had almost forgotten that. It was all coming to her naturally out of her simply spending time with her hero, and he was being so lovely and helpful – how could she not enjoy herself?

.

At one point Sonic had even run to Knuckles's house and back, to borrow his old target boards. He set them up in a circle around Amy, tacked onto thin wooden poles, explaining that she needed to test her newfound abilities. She stared at them in dismay, noting that they were quite small for target boards: about the size of her hand.

"How am I supposed to hit them?" she moaned. "They're tiny."

"They're big enough for you to hit, honestly," he assured her. "Just remember what I taught ya. With the right techniques, they'll smash easily. So let's see what you've got." He stepped back to watch her, folding his arms confidently.

.

Amy tried to match his confidence, hoping that she would impress him. He'd taught her a good number of different moves, all of which she could use to destroy the targets. She turned her attention the one in front of her, breathing deeply. _Here goes nothing_. She swung a well-aimed punch, distantly reinforcing the techniques that Sonic had shown her. A sharp crack resonated in the air, followed by a clatter. Then she spun on the balls of her feet to attack the other targets, swiftly launching her fists, hearing more and more hollow clattering. Her mind was ablaze with determination, and she heard Sonic's voice in her head, reminding her of their practices.

"_Keep your wrist straight! And turn! That's it! Keep your arms slightly bent! Now swing the other way!" _

.

She was moving so quickly that she barely registered what she was doing as she twisted in different directions, breaking a target then whirling around to break another. She focused on Sonic's voice in her mind, timing her punches to his instructions. It was only when she stopped to catch her breath that she realised she'd smashed them all. They lay in pieces on the grass, scattered around the clearing. She surveyed the remains, open-mouthed. She'd hit them all?

.

Sonic clapped heartily. "You got 'em! Bang on _target_!" he grinned, sending her a wink. "What did I tell ya?"

Amy beamed at him. "I can't believe I just did that!" she cried. "I got them all! Every one! Look!"

"I know!" he laughed as she ran over to him. He raised his hand for a high five, but she launched herself onto him.

She hugged him tightly, unable to stop her breathless giggling. His eyes shot open.

"A-Andy… what are you…?" He trailed off.

Amy didn't hear him. She just enjoyed the warmth of his body and his fresh, spicy scent. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, feeling like she fit in his arms. Surely, something that felt so right was simply… right. How could he be so intoxicating? How was his touch so exhilarating? Maybe there was such a thing as perfection…

.

Sonic patted Andy's back, starting to feel uncomfortable. The excitable hedgehog had been hugging him for a while now. Then there was the fact that no boy had ever hugged Sonic before at all, or at least not without it being a dire situation. And the way he was hugging him… It wasn't exactly your average hug. Andy was holding him rather tightly, and around his _neck_, of all places. "Uh… Andy?" he said.

.

Amy barely heard him, and she ignored his call, nuzzling into his chest. She didn't want the closeness to end…

"Andy," Sonic tried, speaking more firmly now. "Andy, don't ya think…"

Amy clung tighter, wanting to delay breaking the connection.

"Andy, seriously," Sonic said, blushing, trying to remove her arms from around his neck. "A-Andy. Andy! Can you just-" He tried harder, losing patience.

.

As if a switch had been turned on in her mind, Amy suddenly remembered, in the blink of an eye, that she was a _boy_, hugging Sonic, freaking him out. She let go of him and jumped back, turning away. "S-sorry," she stuttered. "I err… I let my excitement get the best of me sometimes."

Sonic forced a chuckle, his hand finding its way to the back of his head. "That's okay," he said, though his eyes refused to skim over her face for more than a second.

"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," she mumbled sadly, her ears lowering.

"Nah, it's cool. You're excited, I get it." He offered her yet another smile that stole her breath away. "Amy would probably do the same thing."

"Yeah, she would," Amy said, happy that he'd thought of her. "I must get it from her."

.

"I've gotta say, you two are really similar."

Amy tensed. "We are?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah, it's like your twins," he replied. "Then again..." A smirk caught his lips. "There are definitely some differences there, starting with the walk."

Amy laughed, secretly proud of her performance-work, and casually flexed her arms. "I'm just so macho, I guess."

Sonic shook his head, sniggering. "Obviously," he said.

.

"It's true," she insisted. "You've seen first-hand my effect on the ladies. I bet even Amy can't resist me."

Sonic didn't seem to have a comment on that. He shrugged slightly, suddenly very interested in the scenery.

"Sonic?"

"Hm?" He raised his eyebrows, as if suddenly noticing her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Why wouldn't I be?" But before she could answer he said, "Come on, let's get in some more practice before it gets dark."

"Okay," she said, slowly nodding, feeling like she'd upset him for some reason.

.

Thankfully that feeling soon wore off as they got back to practicing, as she could focus on her battle techniques. She'd learnt so much now that Sonic felt it was time to test her abilities with mock-fighting. They tried out different punches and evasive manoeuvres, wrestling their way through the field, slowly building up Amy's skill as well as their relationship. The sun was already beginning to set and the sky spilled over with orange, but neither of them noticed it. They didn't even realise that they both had stupid grins on their faces the entire time. Amy's cheeks were almost hurting from smiling and laughing so much but it barely crossed her mind. She was floating on a cloud of dizzy happiness where only she and Sonic existed, drifting through the skies together, never to return to reality.

But something had to snap her out of it; it always did.

.

They were wrestling, staggering around in the grass, trying to force each other off of their feet. Sonic had won over Andy several times but now that the student was getting the hang of it the teacher found himself with a lot more competition that he had expected. It was a given that Sonic had gone easy on him; after all, at his own skill level he was accustomed to fighting enormous robots with enough power to destroy a city. But he found himself having to hold back less and less as time went on. Andy was proving to be a very admirable fighter and a tough opponent. Sonic's eyes held a challenging spark as he tried to force his rival backwards but Andy forced him right back, smirking.

.

"I bet you wish you'd never trained me now," Amy said in between breaths, trying to ignore the force of Sonic's strong arms braced against hers. She was trying her very hardest, using all of her power and yet he didn't seem to be even breaking a sweat.

"You think you're trained?" Sonic grinned, moving so that they were forced to rotate, their arms locked in equal force. "Pfft. This is like kindergarten."

"If you say so… novice." She injected a little more energy into her arms, pushing him slightly.

"_I'm_ the novice?" he laughed. "What about you?" He countered her strength, slowly dominating the struggle.

"I'm the champion," she announced. In one move she lunged at him, knocking him to the ground and landing on top of him. Pinning him down, she smirked and said, "And you just got owned."

.

It was at that moment that Amy's sunglasses slipped off her nose and onto the grass, revealing her bright jungle-coloured eyes. The second that Sonic saw them his own eyes snapped open in surprise. He stared at her. Amy's heart was jittering as panic shot through her system. He wasn't supposed to see her eyes! He just couldn't! It could put everything at stake! And yet she could do nothing but stare back at him, frozen, hardly breathing. She was very aware of his chest rising and falling beneath her as his wide eyes searched hers. It was as if he'd left his body; his gaze was so distant, yet so fixated… on her.

.

She could feel his breath tickling her mouth as his stare somehow intensified, giving her the strangest urge to lean closer to his face. Neither of them said a word for what felt like hours. All that Amy could hear was the rhythm of Sonic's heavy breathing and her own heartbeat pulsating in her ears. His eyes left hers for the briefest of seconds, to flicker downwards to her lips. When their gazes re-connected, the alarm bells that had been ringing in her mind were finally heard and she jumped off of him.

.

She scrambled away from him, almost panting. For the first time in her life she saw Sonic's cheeks taking on a tint of red as he gripped the grass, his chest heaving.

"S-sorry about that," she babbled, extremely flustered. She grabbed her sunglasses and set them firmly back over her eyes.

Sonic coughed nervously. "Me too. It's just that… Y-you have the exact same eye colour as Amy a-and it kind of freaked me out," he confessed. He was forcing his eyes onto the grass, still blushing like crazy. "That's why I went all… 'trancey'."

.

Amy looked up at that statement and her embarrassment was briefly forgotten. "You know her eye colour?"

"Wha… N-no…" he said slowly. "No, but, I mean, well yeah, I knew it was green, but… No. It's not like I take any special notice if that's what you're saying."

"Oh…" she murmured, adjusting her sunglasses, trying to make sure that they would _not_ fall off again. She hadn't expected him to let her get so close to his face. Her mind was still reeling from it. Why didn't he stop her?

.

"Hey, how come you never take off your sunglasses?" Sonic asked, either to relive the tension or to simply make her job difficult.

"How come you never wear clothes?" she retorted.

Finally, a comfortable smile settled upon his face. "Touché," he laughed. "Is it just to 'keep up the cool'?"

She couldn't stop the grin from pulling at her lips. "You know it, bro."

.

Another airy laugh was shared between them and the tense atmosphere was immediately gone, leaving Amy to once again wonder how on earth he did it. She'd never understand the way that Sonic the Hedgehog could make her so flustered in one moment and so calm and happy in another. He seemed to have a gift for making anyone feel comfortable, and making Amy feel liked she was on cloud nine. How did he do that? How did he hold such power over her? And the still the question plagued her mind: why did he let her get so close?

.

They got to their feet, brushing the grass from their bodies. "Thanks, Sonic," she said, unable to contain her smile. "I learnt a lot today." _A whole lot_.

He chuckled, flicking grass off his ear. "No problem. It was fun," he said. "Back to searching tomorrow?"

Amy stared at him, feeling exhaustion tug at her muscles. She felt tired and heavy, and desperately needed a lie-in, and yet she couldn't contain her smile. He wanted to spend time with her _again_? That would make three days in a row! "Sure." The word left her mouth before she'd even had a chance to think about it. Oh, but did she really need to think twice about spending time with Sonic? Extra sleep would just have to wait.

.

"Awesome," Sonic said. "Same place, same time?"

She nodded.

"See ya tomorrow, buddy!" he called, and then he was gone.

Amy felt a rush of happiness explode out of her in a sudden bout of giggles. She let herself fall into the grass, spreading out her arms, releasing all of her excitement. 'Same time, same place'? They had their own time and place now? That had to mean something, surely! Sonic really liked her! She'd hardly acted that different at all and he still liked her! Maybe her being a girl really did make him feel nervous. She closed her eyes, beaming from ear to ear. Sonic really did seem to like her. And that moment, when they'd been wrestling… It was like magic.

.

Suddenly she sat up, alert. She kept forgetting: she _wasn't_ a girl anymore, or at least not to Sonic. And he'd still let her get so close… Why didn't he say anything? He'd just stared at her. Maybe it _was_ because he recognised her eyes but even so, she just couldn't imagine Sonic letting another boy get so close to his face. If it was anyone else, wouldn't he have pushed them off, told them it was weird or even run away? But he didn't do any of those things. And for a second she could have sworn that he was going to…

.

No. No, that was ridiculous. It must have been the angle that she was looking at him in. It was probably her eyes playing tricks on her. They were so close; it would have been entirely possible that she imagined him looking at her lips. Yes, that was it. She sighed. "I really need to stop getting so carried away."

.

But the fact remained: he hadn't stopped her. He hadn't pushed her off or run away. He'd let her get so close to him that she'd almost kissed him right then and there. And that little detail circled her mind until the second she fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed that. I enjoyed writing it ^_^<strong>

**It's kinda confusing to write different POVs with Amy gender change. :S Hopefully you guys aren't confused when you read it.. Anyway thanks again, everyone. I love hearing what you think :)**


	15. On the Case

**Yes, I am alive. So maybe it's been a month but hey I'm just happy it wasn't 3 like last time! :D  
>A massive thank you to <em>hot pink 123, Skyelara, sonicathehedgehog, November Ember, SmileRen, Shadow's party girl 96, Super-Shadow1248, Zoom the Hedgehog, shirinuigoddeviantart, Juliix, IOwnSonicX, Comrade Athelwine, XoxoSonamy4440oxoX, ChillyNight, Danielle Fenton, ShadAmy4Eva <em>(I'll reply to you below :)), _Lightning Eyes, Alexandra the Leopard, RaeRaethehedgehog, Mi123, Lola, Rosy the Spazz, Xanelia the Cat, Romantic Person, Rainydaysandnights _and _anon._Flippin' heck! xD you guys are amazing. Just.. thank you. :')**

Reply to ShadAmy4Eva: Don't worry, I know Sonic's not gay ^_^. Haha, I do feel special, thank you! :D You'll find out whether or not you're right.. eventually xD. I just wanted to assure you that I agree, Sonic is not gay. :) Thanks again!

**So, once again, thank you for your feedback, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15 – On the Case<strong>

"This is getting ridiculous," Sonic muttered under his breath, rubbing his temples in frustration. He didn't get tired of searching for Amy, he never would, but he was growing tired of not finding her. It was really getting the better of him.

Andy turned towards him. "Huh?"

Sonic left his trance. "It's nothing, I just… I thought that we'd find her by now," he said.

Andy's expression became a haze of emotions; unreadable. "Well… We could always try another day or-"

"No," Sonic interjected. "No, we've got to keep looking." His friend looked surprised, and he forced an apologetic smile. "Sorry. It's just that… Amy wouldn't ever stop looking for me. It's only right that I do the same for her," he said, clenching his fists as that familiar sting swept through him again. It happened every time he thought about her leaving, and it hurt.

.

He shook it off and they continued walking, leaving the outskirts of Mobius and venturing into the less familiar towns.

"So… is it just a morals thing?" Andy asked.

"What?"

"You're not just doing this because you feel that you have to, are you?"

"No," Sonic said slowly, raising an eyebrow. "I already told you, I want to find her. I want to find out what all this is about. I want to… make sure she's okay." _I want to tell her I'm sorry for being such an idiot…_

"Oh, okay. I just wanted to be sure…" Andy drifted off, and Sonic found himself wanting to see the other hedgehog's expression behind those sunglasses of his. It was surprising how much harder it was to read his emotions when his eyes were hidden, but Sonic could usually figure them out through Andy's voice.

.

Sonic's expression must have showed his confusion, because Andy looked away and said, "She's like a sister to me. Sorry if I'm a little forward."

"Oh, erm, no problem," Sonic said, becoming slightly uncomfortable as the conversation touched on that kind of topic. He was mentally kicking himself, already feeling like an idiot for yesterday's incident. He hadn't meant to stare at Andy like that but his eyes… They were just like Amy's! They were exactly the same, Sonic was sure. And maybe he'd told a tiny white lie when he'd said he didn't pay any special attention to her. He'd caught himself staring at her quite a few times, in fact. But that information was his and only his. If anybody else noticed, he could be sure they'd say he… _loved_ her or something crazy like that. Sonic wouldn't deny (to himself, at least) that Amy was attractive, and he was starting to miss her… to some extent.

.

He sighed. Really, who was he trying to fool? He missed her like crazy. Every day he thought about how much he was craving her presence. He missed her laugh, her hugs and her lovely smile that took his breath away.

Sonic's breath hitched and he swallowed. He hated it when this happened. Why was it that he could control time and space and yet he couldn't even control his thoughts? Perhaps Amy's absence was just getting to him. Maybe the fact that the one person most devoted to him had left him without a second thought bothered him.

.

That was why he'd stared at Andy like that. Because in that moment, he'd been reminded of her, and of how much he… needed her. No, not _needed_. That was excessive. He just missed her; that was all. And he'd gotten so carried away that he'd been unable to break away from Andy's gaze, because it resembled hers so closely. Thank goodness Andy got off of him because he was so lost that for a moment there he thought he was going to do something really stupid. He supposed it was partly because Andy had also been his relief. While he'd temporarily lost one friend, he'd gained another. And, in a weird way, Andy reminded him so much of Amy it made him feel better about her leaving. He guessed that Andy and Amy were so close that they shared attributes, though for some reason Sonic didn't like the idea of Amy having a long-term friend that nobody else knew about. Why should it be a secret? Why couldn't they all have met Andy before now? He couldn't help but wonder…

.

Even so, Andy had very quickly become a close friend who Sonic trusted, and was generally a great person to be around. He was clumsy, funny, and a little bit crazy, but Sonic liked that. And, most importantly, Andy was never afraid or ashamed to show that he cared. Sonic greatly respected that. He'd never been able to show how much he cared. Of course, he could with friends, but not with Amy. She was different. But Andy made him feel better.

.

He didn't know if it was because he reminded him of Amy or just because of the excitement from having a new friend, but Andy seemed to be able to free him from negativity. He made him laugh like no one else could, mostly because of his clumsiness and fiery temper, but either way Sonic was just glad to have a friend like him. It was almost impossible to be unhappy around him. Hanging out with him made Sonic feel so… light and carefree. It was so strange; no one else could do that. Nobody else except Amy…

.

Sonic frowned, willing these thoughts to go away. He hardly understood his feelings anymore.

_I _need_ to chill out, big time_, he thought.

Andy cleared his throat and Sonic practically jumped. He tuned back into reality, realising that they'd already gone through the entire town. For how long had he been stuck inside his head?

"I'm sure we'll find her soon," Andy said quietly, clearly uneasy with the continuous silence.

Sonic felt guilty, knowing that he'd made it awkward. "Yeah," he murmured.

.

Amy paused, staring quizzically, as Sonic suddenly halted in front of her. He spun around and snapped his fingers, grinning.

"I've got an idea," he said.

"What is it?" Amy asked, feeling his contagious smile pull at her lips.

"I'll show ya," he replied, winking. He grabbed her arm, and before she knew what was happening the ground was rushed away from her feet and a sudden wind was blasting through her quills as she clung onto him for dear life.

.

She screamed, before biting her lip to stop herself, knowing that she sounded like a girl. The world around her was a blur of rapidly changing colours, whizzing past her. The only thing that she could focus on was the back of Sonic's head, and his hand firmly grasping her arm: the only thing keeping her from flying off. She tightened her grip and ducked behind him, squinting as the wind pierced her gaze, making her eyes water. She'd found a serious downside to being a boy: when Sonic ran he didn't carry her like he did when she was Amy. He used to hook one arm under her knees and the other around her back, cradling her closely to him so that she could bury her face into his chest, feeling like she couldn't be safer. But he didn't run with boys like that; that would be weird. So instead he'd grab their arm and break into speeds of around seven hundred miles-per-hour, leaving them flailing behind, usually yelling at the top of their voices.

.

Amy gritted her teeth, half terrified and half fascinated at the scenery around her. It was as if someone had smudged an oil painting with countless colours, but it was constantly moving. She lifted her head slightly, afraid that something would break at the speeds that they were moving at. But in a matter of seconds it had stopped, as Sonic slowed to a halt. He caught her as she stumbled forwards, grinning at her.

.

"Enjoy the ride?" he said.

She blinked, waiting for the world to stop spinning. "Ugh…" she moaned.

"Be sure to leave a review of the service! If you recommend it to a friend you get a fifty per cent discount!" Sonic joked. Seeing her expression, his smile dropped. "Or not. Are you okay?"

She wondered how she was supposed to answer that question, when she noticed his lips quivering, as he was clearly trying very hard not to laugh at her. "What?" she snapped.

His lips curled inwards as he tried to suppress his grin, and his eyes drifted to her quills. "H-have you ever heard of the phrase, 'dragged through a h-hedge backwards'?" he stuttered, his voice cracking from holding back laughter.

.

Amy glared at him, feeling fairly sure of where he was going with this.

"Y-you know," he said, "they s-say that drying your hair naturally is the way to go b-but blow-drying just… _stands_ _out_ so much more!"

Amy's hands flew to her quills, and she was horrified to feel that they were so windswept and they'd gained so much volume that they'd practically doubled in size.

Sonic was now grinning like a madman at her expression. "Aw, come on, it's not th-that bad," he spluttered. "Poodle-style is supposed to be the latest fashion!"

.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore and he burst into hysterics, clutching his sides and howling with laughter. He was laughing so hard that he was shaking, while simultaneously moving away from Amy who looked as if she was about to explode.

"My hair!" she shrieked, frantically smoothing down her ruffled fur. She flattened the top of her quills and neatened the shaped angles at the ends of them, hoping that her perfectly moulded disguise wasn't ruined.

"Stop laughing! It's _not_ funny!"

.

This only made Sonic laugh harder, as he clung to his stomach with one hand and held out the other for protection. Amy growled, deciding that perhaps it was time to put her newfound techniques to use. She lunged at him, trying to punch him anywhere she could to shut him up. He was holding her back, trying to control his laughter. Her fist lightly brushed the side of his stomach and he jumped back, holding out his hands.

"N-no, please, not my sides," he said, sounding a little more serious now. "They're… sensitive." He wiped his eyes.

.

A smirk began to replace Amy's frown. "You mean you're ticklish?"

"No… I never said that," he replied, but his grin became sheepish. He backed away from her. "C-come on, Andy. You can't seriously…"

Amy advanced on him, arms outstretched.

"No. N-no, please, Andy," he begged, out of breath. "Come on… As if you'd really tickle another guy, that's- AGH!" He was cut off as Amy pounced. She tickled him mercilessly, pushing away his arms as he feebly attempted to defend himself.

.

He burst into laughter all over again, only this time it was more high-pitched, interrupted by the occasional plea for Amy to stop. Her smirk broke into a full-scale evil grin. Revenge was sweet. And the fact that Sonic was secretly ticklish reminded her of how cute he was, not that she ever forgot. Her eyes momentarily left his face to drift onto their surroundings, and Amy regarded the building in front of them in surprise. In all this time, she hadn't noticed that Sonic had taken them to the Chaotix Detective Agency. She relinquished her hold on him and he staggered backwards, panting, with a light tinge of red on his cheeks.

.

Amy swallowed as it dawned on her that it wasn't exactly normal for a boy to tickle another boy, was it? Oh well, the damage was done, she supposed. It was becoming routine that she would do something clumsy or stupid, and she'd already made it obvious that she was no normal 'boy'. She was too interested in where they were to bother about it now anyway. Why had Sonic taken them here? Surely he wasn't going to involve the Chaotix in the search?

.

Although the eccentric trio were good friends and fun to be around, their investigation methods were hardly ever sensible, mostly thanks to the boss, Vector. They weren't too successful either, despite Vector's principle of helping any customer that paid. The small, quirky building seemed to reflect the nature of the team, with slanted roofs and bright green window frames of different shapes and sizes. A tilted sign hung above the door, with bold, black lettering stating: 'Detective Office'.

.

"The Chaotix?" Amy questioned Sonic, observing the house. "Why are we here?"

He straightened, his smile returning to a normal size. "I figured we could use some extra help," he said.

_Suspicions confirmed,_ Amy thought.

"Amy's mentioned them?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah. From what I hear they have very… unconventional methods," she said carefully.

He chuckled. "Yeah, they're pretty wacky, but they're good friends of mine and they're always willing to help."

The two hedgehogs stepped onto the wooden, makeshift decking that surrounded the office, and Sonic rapped his knuckles on the door.

.

A young, excited voice rang out from the inside the building. "I'll get it!"

"Charmy, no!" shouted a deeper, more gravelly voice that could only belong to Vector. "Charmy! Get back here!"

The door swung open, and a hyperactive bee hovered in the doorway. "Hey, Sonic!" Charmy cried.

"'Sup, Charmy?" Sonic said, gently bumping his knuckles into the young bee's as their greeting.

Suddenly Vector appeared in the hallway, red-faced. "Charmy!" he growled, running up to the door. "I told you not to- Oh, it's Sonic!" His expression instantly morphed into a smile. "Hiya, Sonic! How're ya doing? Come on in!"

"I'm good, Vector. Thanks."

.

Sonic and Amy entered the house, smiling. It had been a while since either of them had seen the Chaotix team.

"Who's your friend?" Vector asked, eyeing Amy as they walked into his office.

"This is Andy. He's a close friend of Amy's," Sonic replied. "And now ours too," he added, unknowingly making Amy beam.

"Well, a friend of Sonic's is a friend of mine! Welcome, buddy!" the crocodile announced loudly, slapping Amy on the back.

She winced, briefly feeling sorry for boys and the way they treated each other. "Thanks," she wheezed.

.

"Sit down, sit down!" Vector said, gesturing to two armchairs behind the hedgehogs. "Espio, get in here and say hello!" he yelled.

The purple chameleon in question calmly appeared in the doorway, obviously used to Vector's demanding attitude. He greeted the two hedgehogs and sat down beside his boss, who leaned back in his chair, smiling.

"So, what can I do for ya?" Vector asked.

.

Sonic began to explain to him the long and slightly complicated story of Amy's absence. Amy put in the occasional remark when prompted, but otherwise she remained quiet, feeling like she was insulting them all just by being there. She kept her gaze down, trying to ignore her uneasiness. When they'd explained everything down to the last detail, Vector nodded slowly, contemplating the situation.

.

"Hmm…" he murmured, stroking his chin. "I see what ya mean. It is unusual for something like this to happen. And it doesn't sound like Eggman had anything to do with it, for once."

The crocodile observed Amy, his eyes narrowed. "Do you have any idea of where she is?" he asked.

"Err… no. No, she never said anything about leaving. But I'm sure she'll come back soon," Amy said quickly.

"She's already been gone for almost two weeks."

"Yeah but… She will come back soon. I know she will," she protested, feeling a bit targeted.

"Hopefully," he murmured.

.

"So, will you help us look?" Sonic asked.

Vector paused for a moment. "I already have my suspicions of where she is," he said, looking at Amy again.

She winced. He couldn't have recognised her, could he? Then he brightened up, straightening.

"Sure, we'll help! You can count on us, Sonic!" he cried. "The Chaotix are on the case! I'll call Tails's Workshop when we've got a lead, but we might need to go over some of the details."

"Cool. Thanks," Sonic smiled.

.

With the Chaotix now involved in the search, Sonic and Andy continued to look for Amy in the outskirts of Mobius until the sun began its gradual path back into the horizon. Sonic noticed that Andy had been slightly quieter since their visit to the detective agency but decided to think nothing of it. He was probably just worrying about Amy. Sonic could certainly relate. Though at the same time, he couldn't help but think that Andy wasn't as bothered by her absence as he was. The other hedgehog claimed that it was because he knew they'd find her, but Sonic just wasn't feeling the same determination and concern that he felt himself.

.

In fact, it was clear, Sonic thought as they began to return home, that he was the more dedicated of the two. It was no wonder that Amy hadn't mentioned Andy before if he was always so dispassionate. Sonic frowned as they walked, annoyed at himself. Why was he thinking _that_? It was ridiculous. He looked at the hedgehog beside him, ashamed of his thoughts. Andy was a great friend. Of course Amy would be friends with someone like him. It was only natural that she and Andy had grown so close, and Sonic could see why. Andy was an all-round good person and Sonic, too, had grown close to him. It was unusual; Sonic hardly ever let his guard down for anyone and yet he'd known Andy for about a week and he trusted him completely.

.

His friendship with Andy only grew stronger as the days passed, and they alternated every day between searching for Amy and teaching Andy battling techniques. Andy was becoming more and more skilled in fighting, and he developed an instant confidence in his abilities. Sonic was proud to say that he'd helped in the creation of another freedom fighter. Andy was thrilled every time he mastered a new move, with an almost childlike excitement that never failed to make Sonic smile, and the proud hero would always praise Andy's achievements, encouraging him as much as possible.

.

These sessions were enjoyable for both hedgehogs, and Sonic never tired of being in Andy's company. However, while their friendship grew, the search for Amy appeared to be more and more useless, and Sonic was becoming increasingly frustrated. He simply could not imagine where she'd gone. He highly doubted that she would have gone to the effort of leaving Mobius altogether, and yet they'd searched it endlessly. It was getting to the point where nearly every Mobian knew what they were going to ask before they'd approached them, and they would shake their heads, offering only a polite, sympathetic smile.

.

He reflected on their efforts as he raced throughout the city, willing the emerging stars to soothe his restless mind. He often went for a run at the end of the day to release any excess energy, and to clear his head.

_Just like Amy said she would…_

His brow furrowed as he felt his tension begin to return. His clenched fists felt tighter and he pumped his legs harder, willing to drive his stress away. It had been well over two weeks now. Almost three. For someone who was clearing their head, Amy seemed to be really taking her time. He'd assumed she'd be gone for a few days but he'd never imagined it would take this long. What if… What if she wasn't coming back?

.

As if the wind had gathered itself into a raging fist and lunged at his chest, he felt his breath being momentarily stolen from him. He coughed. Running was suddenly difficult, and his heart pounded as panic began to seep into his mind like smoke. He channelled his adrenaline into his legs, driving them to move even faster. He tore across the landscape, pushing himself to his limits. Of course Amy was coming back. She couldn't just leave like that. She wouldn't. It was unthinkable. He was being completely irrational. He just needed to run for a bit longer, and get these silly thoughts out of his head. Amy would never do that to her friends.

.

The more he ran, the more his mind became misted over, drowning out the anxiety. He breathed out deeply, making himself relax. His running drifted into a less frantic speed. The wind whipping through his quills was starting to feel more therapeutic than disconcerting. He ran for a while longer, until it no longer felt necessary, before returning to the workshop. The sky was littered with stars by the time he reached the door, and aside from the moon it was stained with a solid, inky blackness.

.

Sonic wiped his brow as he entered the workshop, surprised to feel dampness. He rubbed it off as he made his way inside, forcing a smile when he saw Tails sitting at his computer. "Hey, Tails."

The fox swivelled around in his chair. "Oh, hi, Sonic. I wondered when you would be back," he said. Concern began to sink into his expression as he studied his older brother. "You look… kind of rough. Are you okay?"

Sonic sighed mentally. Was he that easy to read? "Of course I am, buddy," he said, hoping that he sounded more cheerful than he felt. "A little tired though. I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonight." _I'm hardly gonna sleep at all tonight... _

.

"Oh." Tails smiled sympathetically. "Were you looking for Amy again today?"

"Yeah. She sure knows how to keep herself hidden. She'd be amazing at hide-and-seek," Sonic joked, feeling anything but comical. "I've got to know her secret."

Tails was silent for a moment. He watched his older brother closely, and somehow Sonic knew that he didn't buy the joker act. "Hey… Sonic. You know, you can always talk to me, if you want to," he said quietly. "If something's bothering you or, I don't know, you just want to let off some steam, I'll always be there to listen."

.

For one split second, Sonic's guard dropped and he considered telling the fox just how troubled he really was. He knew that in that moment, Tails saw the restlessness in his eyes. But then he pasted his smile back on. "Thanks, Tails. Ditto."

Tails sighed. Sonic began to move towards the staircase, deciding that he should at least try to sleep, though he somehow doubted that it would happen. Just as he placed his hand on the rail of the staircase, Tails called out to him.

"By the way," said the fox, as he poked his head out the doorway. "Vector called for you earlier. He said he needed to talk you about Amy and he wants you to go over there tomorrow."

"Has he figured out where she is?"

"I don't know. He just said to talk to him tomorrow. Oh, and privately."

.

Sonic raised an eyebrow. Privately? "Okay. Thanks," he said. "Night, buddy."

Why did it need to be private? And did it mean that Vector knew where Amy was? Sonic felt a rekindled spark of hope as he reached his room, collapsing into his bed. It could only be good news, surely. Or at least a step further in the investigation. He closed his eyes, releasing a long sigh. "Only one way to find out," he whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>So, a bit of Sonic's POV for you there ^_^. Amy cut it close tickling him like that but how could she resist? :P Hopefully the POV changes weren't too confusing for you guys..<br>What does Vector have to tell Sonic? Is Amy's secret about to be revealed? So many questions... ;)  
>I hope you enjoyed that. Thanks for reading, and I just want you guys to know that I really love getting your feedback. So thank you! ^_^<strong>


	16. Accusations

**So happy I got this done ^_^ I have a week (and a random day) left of exams and then I'm FREEEEE! :'D For the summer at least. And once I'm done with exams my updates will finally be regular again (hopefully - no promises!)  
>A massive thank you to <em>sonicathehedgehog, hot pink123, shirinuigoddeviantart, Skyelara, Alexandra the Leopard, November Ember, SilverDawn2010, Danielle Fenton, Whitefire Gamahz, Hollie the hedgehog, Jayjay0219, Super-Shadow1248, ShadAmy4Eva, Chilly Night, Rosy the Spazz, Xanelia the Cat, Romantic Person, Sam Breanna and me, Mi123<em> and_ kuki62. _You guys are lovely, thank you :) And ridiculously patient. :P  
>So, here's chapter 16! ^_^ Hope you enjoy it!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16 - Accusations<strong>

The door clicked shut behind Sonic as he entered the Chaotix office. He greeted the trio and sat down in one of the armchairs, locking his fingers together on his lap to stop himself from fidgeting. He felt jittery, from both anxiety and excitement. This conversation could be all that he needed to find Amy and end this frustration. Vector shuffled through papers on his desk, nodding to himself as he collected some together. Then he looked up at Sonic and leaned forward in his oversized armchair, clearing his throat.

.

"So," he said, in the grand voice that he used for business. "Since ya came to us on Tuesday, we've made a list of evidence related to the case. We've taken into account everything you've told us, as well as our own research."

"And you've got a lead?" Sonic asked.

"A vague lead," Espio said, and Vector glared at him.

"A _solid_ lead," the boss insisted. "But before I tell ya, I thought it was best if you gave us some more details. Just to make sure, ya know. I'm always thorough with these things," he said proudly, "which is of course why you came to me in the first place!"

"There's no 'I' in 'team'," Espio muttered. "Plus, that was my idea."

"There's no empty-headed boss in 'team', either," Charmy added, though Sonic and Vector paid no attention to them.

.

"Okay," said Sonic. "What do you need to know?"

"We need to know about your new friend, Andy," Vector said, quickly scanning over his papers.

Sonic leaned back slightly, surprised. "Andy? Why? What's he got to do with it?"

"Well, you mentioned that he was Amy's childhood friend, right? And he's been helping you search." The crocodile flicked through the pages again.

"Yeah," Sonic confirmed slowly, wondering where this was going.

"But no matter where you looked you couldn't find her. And it says here that Andy apparently doesn't know anything about Amy leaving. That's weird. It really got my intuition going."

.

Vector stacked his papers loudly on the desk, and returned his gaze to Sonic. "You've been searching pretty much constantly, haven't ya? But there's not a trace of her. And Andy has no idea why she left?"

Sonic clenched his fists and frowned uncomfortably, feeling like he was being criticised for not finding her.

Espio must have noticed his expression, as he explained, "What Vector means is, it's strange that there's no clue of where she went. And it's even stranger that Andy doesn't seem to know anything about it, if he and Amy are so close."

"Exactly," Vector said. "So, what I wanna know is, can you tell us anything else that seems odd?"

.

"Erm…" Sonic frowned in thought. At this point he wasn't so sure of how helpful this would be. The fact that Amy left was weird in the first place. Nearly everything about the situation was weird. What was he supposed to say? He tried to recall the past few weeks, flicking through the pages of his memory as if it was a picture book. Several events seemed to pop up, capturing his attention. "Well," he said, "one night, about two weeks ago, I heard something from inside Amy's house."

.

Vector leaned further forward, clearly interested. "Go on," he said.

"It was a crashing noise, like stuff was falling down, and I thought it was a burglar. So I broke in to stop him, but he must have escaped because I searched the house and I couldn't find anybody." Sonic felt himself tense slightly at the memory. If he ever found the little so-and-so who did that...

.

"What happened after that?" Vector asked.

"Nothing, really," said Sonic. "I ran outside to try and catch him but no one was there. And then I saw Andy, and that's about it."

"Andy was there?" Vector was really interested now.

"Yeah, but he was just going that way to get home."

"Apparently," Vector added, narrowing his eyes.

"What do you mean by that?" Sonic asked.

"You'll see," was the ominous reply. "What else has been unusual?"

Sonic raised an eyebrow, but continued to recall the past few weeks.

.***.

Rouge studied herself in the mirror, smirking in satisfaction. She winked at her reflection. This girl was more than ready to knock the socks off of any guy who so much as breathed the same air as her, but her mind was set on one man only. She put a hand on her hip, swivelling her body from side to side as she checked out her outfit. She looked good and she knew it. "Purple really is my colour," she purred, eyeing the dress that clung to her figure. It wasn't too showy; it was just a short, simple dress. Simplicity wasn't exactly her thing but, as Amy had pointed out, it focused the attention on her rather than her clothes, and she would admit that she did like the single-strap style.

.

"You look great, Rouge," Amy said, smiling.

"Thanks, pinky."

"So, are you excited for your date?" Amy was beaming. She crossed her legs as she perched on Rouge's bed, as if to compress her own enthusiasm.

Rouge controlled her smile, holding it from stretching into a grin. "Right now, sugar, you seem more excited than I am," she said, eyeing the hedgehog, who was practically bouncing.

"Because this your third date together! You guys are basically a couple now!"

Rouge raised an eyebrow at her friend, though her smile betrayed her.

.

"I knew he liked you! And thanks to my matchmaking skills, this relationship will flourish, like a rose!" Amy cried, clasping her hands together. "Has Knuckles planned this one?"

"Mm-hm," Rouge managed, holding a hair pin between her teeth while she fixed her hair. Then she placed into her fur, saying, "I brought him to a club last time and made him dance for the entire night. He nearly passed out." She smirked. "But that echidna sure can move," she said, picturing the way Knuckles had gained a sudden spark of life as he finally let her drag him onto the dance floor.

Amy laughed. "How did you do that?"

Rouge finally tore her eyes off the mirror and spun to face the hedgehog. She tapped her nose slyly. "That would be telling," she said, winking.

.

Amy rolled her eyes, but she was still grinning. "So what's he planned?" she asked.

Rouge remained quiet for a moment, and averted her gaze. "Nothing really," she said.

Amy's grin widened and she jumped off the bed, leaping in front of the bat. "Yeah, right," she giggled. "What is it? Tell me!"

Rouge tilted her head up, feigning disinterest. "Oh, just hanging around Angel Island. And then later on he said something about stars. He knows all of the constellations or something like that, I don't know."

"Oh my gosh, he's taking you _stargazing_?" Amy squealed. "No way! I had no idea that Knuckles was so romantic!"

.

Rouge pursed her lips, somewhat flustered. "It's no big deal. He probably just wants to show off his knowledge on ancient Mobius."

"Oh, _please_! It's romantic and you know it! Oh, Rouge, you're so lucky!"

The bat raised an eyebrow, stepping back from the hedgehog that was now forgetting the laws of personal space. While Amy's enthusiasm was rather refreshing, it sometimes grated Rouge's nerves. She decided to change the subject. "Anyway, that's not until later. Aren't you supposed to be with Sonic today?" she asked.

.

Amy's smile faded, as her eyes filled with worry. "I was," she said, "but when I went to the workshop this morning Tails told me that he was at the Chaotix Agency. Apparently Vector needed to tell him something important, privately. You don't think they've figured it out, do you?"

Rouge furrowed her brow. "With Vector's IQ? I doubt it," she assured her friend.

"But, remember what I told you? He looked at me as if he knew who I was! And if it wasn't about me, why would it need to be private?"

"Hmm... That's true," Rouge said thoughtfully. "But try not to worry about it. You can't exactly barge in there and deny everything, can you? And if it comes down to it, you might just have to end your little charade."

.

Amy bit her lip. "I guess so," she murmured. She imagined Sonic's face, glaring at her accusingly, and a wave of butterflies moved through her stomach. He'd be so angry.

"Why don't you hang out with Tails or something? Anyway, I'm off now, pinky. Gotta fly." Rouge went over to the door and the hedgehog stared after her, still chewing her lip with unease. "Try to cool it," Rouge advised her. "And don't do anything stupid," she added, leaving the apartment.

.

As she closed the door, she heard Amy growl, "Thanks for the advice," and she laughed.

Amy closed her fists, her nails biting into her palm. Now what was she supposed to do? Sit around and worry? That would be useless. And, besides, Rouge had a point: for a detective, Vector wasn't the brightest bulb in the box. And if she could fool nearly every single one of her friends, then it was silly to think that she couldn't fool him. It was just the way he'd looked at her, with so much suspicion in his gaze, that bothered her. But perhaps that was just a guy thing? Maybe he was just sizing her up? She sighed. There wasn't much that she could do now other than wait and see what Sonic would say tomorrow. She just prayed that, by the end of this, she'd still have a relationship with him.

.***.

"Well, all of this evidence backs up my theory," Vector said confidently. "I'm completely, 100 percent sure of it now."

"Just hang on a minute, Vector," said Espio. "I think that you might have misinterpreted-"

"It all points to one solution, Espio," Vector insisted, interrupting the chameleon. "There's no way that I've got this wrong."

"Got what wrong?" Sonic asked. "What's the theory?"

Vector looked at him carefully, and a hint of concern intruded his eyes. "You might want to prepare yourself for this one, Sonic. You're not going to like it."

Sonic held his gaze, his mouth forming a straight line. He braced himself for whatever Vector had to say, though his mind was desperately trying to figure out what could be so bad.

.

"Andy's not who you think he is," Vector stated.

There was a brief silence.

"What do you mean?"

"Sorry, Sonic, but he's been taking ya for a ride. He's known where Amy is the whole time."

"_What?_"

"And he's been keeping it a secret from ya, because he wants her all to himself."

.

Sonic stared at him disbelievingly, and Vector let out a rough sigh, offended.

"The proof is all there, Sonic!" the crocodile insisted. "His and Amy's friendship was kept a secret until now, and the moment she's gone, he appears. And he claims not to know anything! That doesn't add up! And why do you think he had her purse? If she'd really run away, she would have taken it with her. But instead, _Andy_ had it."

"Now just hold on a second," Sonic protested, but Vector continued.

.

"And then there was the night you saw him outside Amy's house. That can't be a coincidence! He was the only person around! It was him who was inside her house that night! And the reason that you can't find her is because he's hiding her away somewhere!" Vector locked his hands together on the desk. "I hate to tell ya this Sonic, but it's pretty clear to me that Andy's in some kind of relationship with Amy," he said solemnly. "He probably convinced her to leave that note so that they could be together, in secret."

.

Sonic stared at him. What on earth was Vector saying? "Vector… I really don't think-"

"You can't deny the facts, Sonic," Vector said adamantly. "You're just blinded by his act, but if ya think about it, it all fits! He was using ya so he could be a better fighter, but he's not keeping his side of the deal! That's why he kept asking ya what you thought about it, and trying to make you open up to him! To make sure you were buying it!"

Sonic frowned. "Vector," he said firmly. "That's crazy. You can't make assumptions like that. You've only heard half of what's been going on. Andy's not like that, and I know that for a fact."

.

Vector banged his fists on the desk, making Charmy jump. "That's just what he wants you to think! He's foolin' ya!" he cried, his voice booming.

Sonic shook his head. He was beginning to feel irritated. "Look, Vector. Thanks for trying to help but you've really got the wrong end of the stick here," he said. "Andy's a friend, a good friend, and I trust him. He's been trying to help me find Amy, not hide her. He wouldn't do that. So thanks, but I think I can take it from here." He stood up, but Vector stayed in his seat, watching Sonic the whole time.

"Fine by me," Vector growled. "But you'll soon see that I'm right! Just watch out for the signs!"

Sonic did his best to ignore the crocodile's comments as he reached the door, feeling his frustration teeter over the borderline of anger.

"Try talking to him about Amy! I bet he'll be real edgy!" Vector called as Sonic left the office. "And I bet he's protective over her, too!"

.

Sonic resisted the urge to slam the door of the building, and burst into a run the second he was outside. He needed to burn off all this energy. He powered his legs until wind was tearing through his quills, and he could hear the familiar rhythm of his feet pounding the earth below him. Vector had bothered him. Really bothered him. He'd been hoping for answers and all he got was crazy accusations against the person who was really helping him in all of this. He didn't understand how Vector had come up with it; it didn't make sense.

.

Andy… keeping Amy from everyone else? No, that was ridiculous. Andy had become Sonic's most trusted friend, after Tails, and Sonic just couldn't fathom the idea of him betraying them all. And Amy wouldn't agree to that! As if she'd let some guy hide her away from the world! The very thought of it was crazy, and the fact that Vector accused Andy of such things angered Sonic. But what bothered him most of all, was that a small, niggling part of him couldn't help but think… that it did make sense. It was a tiny inkling, but he was annoyed at himself for even having it.

.

He knew that what Vector said was a load of rubbish, but… it _was _weird that Andy had Amy's purse. Nobody would leave something like that behind if they were going away for a while. And he was already beginning to wonder why they hadn't found her yet. And his thoughts kept drifting to the night where he'd heard someone inside Amy's house. Was it really a coincidence that he saw Andy there? Sonic gritted his teeth, mentally scolding himself. Of course it was. Andy just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

.

Guilt seeped into Sonic's mind, and he cursed that tiny part of him that doubted Andy. He decided, right then and there, that he was going to ignore it. He would not let Vector's irrational thinking get to him. Any doubt was forced off his mind, like a slate wiped clean, and finally his usual smile reclaimed its place on his lips.

* * *

><p><strong>So, it looks like Vector might not be such a great detective after all :P<br>I'm anxious to hear what you think about that little twist, because a lot of you said that he'd figured out the truth...  
>It just gets more complicated doesn't it? ^^"<br>Anyway, I hope you all liked it. I really appreciate all your feedback :')**


	17. Dawning of Disaster

**Yes! This was almost a weekly update! :') I am finally done with exams, so I can actually ENJOY life! Updates will definitely be better now, though obviously not all the time - I do want to do other stuff in the summer..  
>Anyway, this is the 17th chapter, making this my longest story on the site! :D But, it hasn't been easy and I have you wonderful people to thank for taking the time to read it. So thank you, <em>November Ember, anon, Super-Shadow1248, SilverDawn2010, RandomKid2012, sonicathehedgehog, hot pink123, Comrade Athelwine, Romantic Person, Hollie the hedgehog, Rosy the Spazz, 4everLucky18, bitchbecrazy, Danielle Fenton, Alexandra the Leopard, Hazel The Rabbit, AmeliaTheHedgehog, ShadAmy4Eva, Mi123, Miss Topaz, shirinuigoddeviantart, BlueyO <em>and _Skyelara._  
>It's crazy how lucky I am. Thank you, SO MUCH. :') It means a lot that you're all reading this. I just hope that you'll continue to enjoy it. The pressure's on ^^"<br>Quick shout out to anonymous reviewers: thanks guys. Sorry I can't reply directly to you, but thank you for your kind and helpful words. :)  
>Anyway, I hope you enjoy my 'debut' chapter 17! :P WOOP! <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17 – Dawning of Disaster<strong>

With his concerns dissolved in the very depths of his mind, Sonic ran back to the workshop, and was surprised to hear two voices rather than the usual one. Tails and Andy were on the couch, talking. Sonic leaned over the back of it and ruffled both of their heads, making them yell in surprise.

"Mind if I join the party?" he grinned.

.

"_Sonic,_" Tails scolded, but he was laughing.

Andy was not. He scowled at Sonic, desperately trying to rearrange his angled quills. "That's the second time you've ruined my fur," he growled.

Sonic merely chuckled. "Sorry, _Andrea._ I'll send for an emergency hairdresser, pronto," he teased.

Thankfully, an amused smirk tilted Andy's lips. "Shut up."

"How did it go with the Chaotix?" Tails asked.

.

Amy tensed. Sonic's cheerfulness was a good sign, wasn't it?

"It was okay," Sonic replied. "Vector hadn't really found anything, though. It was kind of pointless to be honest."

Amy allowed herself to breathe again. Thank goodness for that! All of her worrying had been for nothing. "Then how about we just stick to searching by ourselves," she suggested. "We could try again now if you wanted to."

Sonic smiled at her. "Yeah, okay."

.

"You're going to look _again_?" Tails said. "Sonic, don't you think you should take a break?"

"Did Amy take a break whenever she was looking for me?" Sonic demanded, and his eyes suddenly hardened with determination.

Tails said nothing, but silently shook his head.

"Then I'm not gonna stop until I find her."

Amy felt her stomach somersault, and she had to fight to keep her grin at bay. Oh, how she wished she could somehow record this.

.

"Okay," said Tails, though he sounded unsure. "But don't be out too long."

Sonic's expression softened again, and he allowed his trademark grin to return. "Yes, Mom," he chortled. "Come on, Andy, quick, before she grounds me!"

"Hey!" Tails protested.

Amy giggled, jumping off the sofa to join Sonic. There it was again, that amazing rush of happiness whenever she was around him. How could one person be so intoxicating?

.

"I'm not a girl," Tails said, forcing himself not to laugh.

"So get a girlfriend," Sonic teased. "Cosmo, shall we say?"

Tails's cheeks gained the hue of a tomato. "_What_?" he cried. "N-n-no! We're… I-it's not like that!"

"I know, Mom! I was only teasing ya! I know you're a woman really," Sonic grinned and winked, as he and Amy walked out of the workshop. "Bye now!"

"Bye Mrs. Hedgehog!" Amy called.

"I'm _not_ a hedgehog!" Tails yelled after them. There was a brief pause. "_Or_ a woman!"

.

They burst into peals of laughter, and Sonic gave Amy a rather animated high-five.

"That was genius!" he cackled. Then he wiped his eyes. "He'll get me back for that later."

Amy grinned. "You do tease him a lot," she reminded him.

"It's not _that_ much," he said, smirking. "And I've got to keep up my title of the older brother, haven't I?"

She rolled her eyes, though of course he couldn't see it from behind her sunglasses.

.

It was at that moment that they cut into the path of Rouge, with her arm firmly hooked around Knuckles, who quickly averted his eyes as soon as he noticed the two hedgehogs. Rouge waved at them, smirking as she sauntered over, dragging Knuckles behind her.

Sonic raised his eyebrows questioningly at Amy, nodding towards the apparent couple as they made their way over.

She smiled proudly. "I hooked them up," she explained.

"But I thought you were with Rouge?" he said.

"Nah, that was nothing serious. These guys are the real deal."

"Oh, really?" Sonic smirked. Perhaps Tails wouldn't be the only one to be teased today.

.

"Hi, boys," Rouge purred as she and Knuckles reached them. She kept a firm grip on her prize, as he suddenly looked like he was going to run for the hills.

"Hey Rouge, Knuckles," Amy greeted.

Sonic grinned at the two, and Knuckles was sure he caught a little glint of evil in his eyes. He knew that look. The hedgehog was obviously feeling cheerful and most of the time, for Knuckles, that wasn't a good thing. To his surprise, Sonic said nothing. He just smiled at them, and Knuckles eyed him suspiciously. That smile was far too big to be innocent. Knuckles sent him a glare that said, _'One word and I'll kill you'_, but Sonic's grin simply widened.

.

Although poor Knuckles looked embarrassed enough at being seen on his date with Rouge, Amy couldn't resist. "How's the date going?" she asked.

"Well, let's just say that maybe he does compare to a blade of grass after all," Rouge said, running her finger down Knuckles's chest.

His cheeks exploded with colour and he coughed. Clearly, Sonic felt that this was the perfect moment to make his input, as he began to hum, very loudly, the tune of _Can You Feel the Love Tonight._ Knuckles sent a full-power scowl at Sonic, gritting his teeth. Amy and Rouge ignored the humming, partly because they couldn't decide whether to laugh or tell Sonic to stop.

"I'm glad it's going well," Amy said. "And it's the perfect weather for it, isn't it?"

.

Sonic hummed louder, all the while retaining his innocent expression.

"Yeah," Rouge replied, almost having to shout over Sonic's humming.

"Shut _up_, Sonic," Knuckles snarled, beginning to crack.

Sonic paused. "Oh, sorry, Knuckles, is my humming bothering ya?" he said, his smile stretching to impossible lengths.

"No. _You_ are," Knuckles snapped, breaking free of Rouge's grip and pressing his face up to Sonic's.

"I try to set the tone and this is the thanks I get?"

Knuckles was practically baring his teeth. "I'll give you something else in a minute!" he roared.

.

Rouge stepped in and gently held Knuckles's shoulders. "Knuckie," she said smoothly, disregarding Sonic's sniggering at her pet name. "How about you go and cool off, hmm? I don't want you all worked up on our date."

Knuckles visibly relaxed, but his frown remained. "Watch it, _hedgehog_," he spat, and trudged out of the clearing, muttering.

Amy raised an eyebrow at Sonic.

"What?" he said, his grin slowly returning to a normal size.

She shook her head, holding back a giggle.

.

"So, what brings you two out here anyway?" Rouge asked. "Searching for Amy again?"

"Yeah," said Sonic. "If my luck stays like this we'll find her in a matter of seconds!"

"By luck you mean finding innocent people to wind up?" Rouge smirked.

Sonic chuckled. "What else could make the day any better?" he joked.

"Trust me, I know exactly what you mean."

"And now you've got Knuckles wrapped 'round your finger, huh?"

"Oh, Big Blue, I always did," Rouge purred.

.

Amy smiled at Sonic's remarks, though she couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy. He was having a conversation with Rouge like it was nothing and yet when Amy wasn't 'Andy' he hardly said two words to her. Knuckles was wrong about one thing: Sonic wasn't uncomfortable with girls. He was speaking so confidently, without a hint of awkwardness. It didn't matter who it was, Sonic the Hedgehog could easily talk to any girl, as long as it wasn't Amy. And she hated it. Why was he so uneasy with her?

.

True, her acting as a boy had earned her a powerful friendship with him, but not as _herself_. She couldn't change the fact that he didn't speak to the real her, and that was what really mattered. What if, when all of this was over, nothing changed? She couldn't bear to think that they'd resort to their old ways: Amy chasing Sonic, and him never looking back.

.

Amy left her thoughts for a moment as she listened to his laughter: deep and hearty. Why couldn't he laugh like that with her?

"Well, I'd better go and see that you haven't scared him off," Rouge said, still smirking. "Later, Blue. Bye, Andy."

The two hedgehogs waved, and Amy tried to swallow her qualms. They started walking again, but a silence hung between them. Sonic picked up on it instantly.

"You okay, buddy?" he asked.

"Mm," Amy murmured, avoiding his gaze.

"Andy," said Sonic, standing in front of her. "What's the matter?" Concern was entwined between the hues of green in his eyes.

.

They stopped. Amy breathed deeply, biting her tongue. It was best not to mention it, despite how much it was bothering her. "It's nothing."

"Come on, man. I won't tell anybody. What's on your mind?"

"It's just that…" Amy tensed. Perhaps she could just come out with it? She'd never find out the truth otherwise. "Why are you so happy and comfortable talking to Rouge, and yet you avoid Amy?" she blurted out.

"What?"

"It's not just Rouge, it's all the girls. You're fine when you're talking to them but Amy makes you nervous! What's so bad about her?"

.

Sonic's eyes widened, and his vibrant demeanour vanished. "Hey, we talked about this before," he said. "There's nothing wrong with her, but I told you, it makes me feel uncomfortable when she… you know."

"When she cares about you?"

"No!" Sonic protested. "But you know what's she's like! It's not easy when she's so… open about her feelings."

"But you act like you completely hate it!"

"No, I don't!"

"You do! It's like you can't wait to get away!" Amy cried, letting her frustration get the better of her. "You're fine if Rouge flirts with you but the second that Amy even smiles at you, you run away!"

.

"That's not true!" Sonic growled, traces of anger now lining his gaze. "Come on, Andy, we talked about this and you said you understood! You said you'd do the same thing!"

"But I didn't mean that! I wouldn't ignore her!" Andy cried, clenching his fists.

"Oh, and you're perfect to her?" Sonic demanded. "What's all this about anyway? You got a crush on her or something?" He wasn't even sure where that had come from. It was probably Vector's crazy ideas infecting his mind, but now that he'd noticed it, he couldn't ignore it.

.

"_What_?" Andy was stunned, silent for a moment. "Of course not!" he snapped. "W-we're friends!"

"And that's why you're so concerned about how I treat her, huh?" Sonic cried. "Why you're so interested in her love life?"

"I-I'm not! We're just friends!"

"Sure you are," Sonic growled. Then he heard his own voice, heard the anger radiating from the sound, and he almost jumped. This wasn't him.

.

Amy swallowed, taken aback. Where had Sonic gotten these ideas from? This was so out of the blue; she didn't know how to react. She'd hardly ever seen his temper rise like this before. And judging by his somewhat dazed expression, neither had he. "Sonic," she said, finally lowering her voice. "What are you saying? Where is this coming from?"

He heaved a sigh, and his shoulders dropped as he released his tension. He ran a hand through his quills as he said, "Sorry, Andy. I know, I went kind of crazy there." He shook his head, looking ashamedly at the dirt below them. "I don't know where that came from. I think I'm just tired, but I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said quietly, after a pause.

.

Forcing his breathing into a regular rhythm, Sonic looked back up at Andy. Guilt punctured his mind. He knew that his little outburst had been Vector's words getting to him. Hadn't he buried those doubts? And yet they'd been hiding beneath the surface, tainting his thoughts. He didn't want to think in this way but he couldn't help it. He couldn't seem to block that tiny voice inside his head, taunting him, trying to twist the facts to put Andy under a bad light. But he wouldn't listen to it.

.

"I really didn't mean that, Andy," he said, noting his friend's hesitance. "Maybe I'm a little uptight from not finding her, and I just snapped. But I know it's not like that, really. Can we pretend that that didn't happen?" Sonic asked, attempting an apologetic smile. To his relief, Andy smiled back, relaxing.

"Yeah," he said warmly. "I understand."

Relief settled in Sonic's stomach. "Thanks, buddy. I appreciate it. Sorry for flipping out at ya."

"_I'm_ sorry for criticising you."

"Nah, I deserved it. It's true, I need to chill out more with Amy. Thanks for knockin' me back to Earth."

"No worries."

.

Amy _was_, in fact, slightly worried, but she decided to accept the fact that Sonic was stressed. It was still a crazy accusation though. It seemed too automatic, too natural just to be Sonic's tiredness getting to him. Though it was only for a brief moment, spurred on by his irritation, he looked like he really believed what he was saying. But anger could do that to a person, couldn't it? And he did say that he didn't mean it. Amy had experienced many arguments before, where she too had said stupid things in her rage, so she could relate. She was just thankful that he wasn't serious about it. In situations like these, she knew, it was best just to forget the whole thing, as Sonic had asked.

.

They carried on with the search, slipping back into friendly conversation. Sonic stayed casual, but truth be told, he was still dwelling over their argument. He hadn't been completely honest, because he was very aware of the fact that Vector's words had provoked his outburst. But he couldn't tell Andy that; he didn't want him to feel interrogated. Though, he probably did, and Sonic had himself to blame for it. His sudden, indignant anger was out of character and he knew it, but he couldn't seem to control it. It all related back to the tiny part of him that almost believed Vector's theory.

.

The poisonous shadow of doubt in his mind was growing. He could feel it. He caught himself, time and time again, analysing everything that Andy did and said, linking it back to Vector's accusation. He scolded himself each time, and yet that doubt continued to manifest itself. It was bothering him, interrupting his thoughts and infecting his speech. When they gave up on searching for the day and Andy left, the weakened fences that enclosed his doubts crumbled, and he allowed it to infiltrate the forefront of his mind.

.

For the sake of proving Vector wrong – or so he told himself – he tried to piece together the evidence as he ran through Mobius, working out which pieces fit. And the problem was… a lot of it did. Amy's purse, Andy being outside her house, his questions about Sonic's relationship with her… As much as Sonic wanted to ignore it, it all seemed to point to one answer. Vector's words echoed in his mind.

"_Try talking to him about Amy! I bet he'll be real edgy! ...And I bet he's protective over her, too!"_

He thought about the way Andy had reacted, when Sonic accused him of liking Amy as more than a friend. He wasn't exactly comfortable. Nobody would be, but what Sonic hated was that he found himself considering what Vector had said.

.

Still, it was true that Andy _was_ protective over her. That much was obvious. Maybe friends were protective over each other but not like that. Sonic narrowed his eyes, slowing his run until he stopped. He'd been running across the planet for a good few hours now and he couldn't concentrate. He was just so confused; he didn't know what to believe. He raked a hand through the fur on his head and groaned. This needed to be sorted out. He just needed some advice or someone that he could talk to, to get some peace of mind at least. He needed a second opinion, and the sole person that came to mind was Rouge. She was fairly close to Andy, so perhaps she could give him some extra information or the slap in the face that he needed.

.

Sonic had barely made the decision before he was outside Rouge's door, knocking impatiently. It was fairly late, so he assumed she'd be home from her date with Knuckles. Andy had told him that they'd been stargazing – which had surprised him, to say the least – but the stars were always out early in the spring. His assumptions were right, as the door soon opened and Rouge greeted him with her typical smirk.

"Well, hello there, Big Blue. Fancy coming to visit little old me at a time like this," she drawled.

"Hey, Rouge. Sorry it's kind of late but somehow I didn't think you'd be resting," he replied, still amused at the thought of Knuckles stargazing. "How was your date with the knucklehead?"

.

Rouge allowed him to enter, as she said, "Alright, I guess. He's not as boring as he looks."

Sonic chuckled. They both knew that Rouge had enjoyed it more than she'd admit.

"So, what can I do for ya, Blue?" she said, sitting down on a leather loveseat and examining her fingernails.

"Ah, it's nothing really, I just… I wanted to talk about Andy."

The bat's ears perked up slightly. "Oh? What about him?"

"Uh… Do you ever think that maybe…" Sonic said, cursing himself for saying this, "maybe he's hiding something?"

Rouge turned her full attention on him. "No," she said slowly. "What do you mean, exactly?"

.

Sonic massaged his temples. "Well… he's so close to Amy and yet we still haven't found her, and he has her purse, and he asks things about her and… I don't know, stuff like that."

Rouge looked thoughtful. "I'm not following you," she said eventually. "Where are you going with this, Sonic?"

Sonic frowned. She honestly wasn't catching his drift? "I just… It all seems too… convenient," he said carefully.

Rouge shook her head, and said, "You sure you're not paranoid?"

"Maybe," he admitted.

.

"Listen, Blue, just because Amy had a random unorganised moment and Andy happened to find her purse doesn't mean anything," she assured him. "And the world's a big place. It's no surprise that you haven't found her yet. And you can hardly blame him for caring about his friend, now can you?"

"No," Sonic said quietly. "No, you're right. Thanks, Rouge. I needed that." He scratched his neck, absently surveying the room. His eyes fell onto a leather jacket on the floor, stealing his interest. "Hey, isn't that Andy's?" he said, gesturing to it. He remembered his friend wearing it on spring's colder mornings.

"Yeah. He left it here when he came over," Rouge said, her eyes fixed onto her nails again.

"I'll take it back to him for ya," Sonic offered. "Where does he live?"

.

Rouge shifted in her seat. "Thanks, sugar, but I don't know where he lives."

"What?" Sonic raised an eyebrow at her. "You told me that you've been to his place."

"That doesn't mean that I remember where it is."

"But you said that you went there yesterday!"

Rouge looked up from her nails. Her expression was unreadable, her eyes searching. Sonic locked gazes with her, confused. He could almost see the gears of her mind turning.

"Sorry, Sonic," she said, after a pause. "Andy doesn't like people knowing where he lives. I'm not allowed to tell you."

"Seriously?" Sonic asked, incredulous. "Why?"

"It's just his way. Sorry. These lips are zipped."

.

"Rouge, I'm not gonna break into his house," Sonic chuckled. "Just tell me where he lives and I'll drop off his jacket and leave."

"No can do," Rouge said firmly.

"What's with all the secrets? You know how weird this sounds, right?"

"It's not a _secret-_"

"So tell me," Sonic said, nearly laughing at how silly this was.

Rouge stopped for a moment, looking hesitant. "It know it sounds weird, but I can't tell you," she insisted.

.

Sonic shook his head, baffled but amused. He picked the jacket up from the floor. "Rouge, come on. What harm can I do by taking his-" He broke off as a bunch of keys slipped out from one of the pockets and fell to the floor. A metallic clink resounded, silencing the room. Both pairs of eyes darted to the keys. Sonic's smile faded. He picked them up, staring at them. The pink and red pattern on the keys was all too familiar, as were the key rings. Instantly he recognised the small plastic heart and the mini photo frame with a picture taken at one of his birthday parties. He knew these keys, and they definitely were not Andy's.

.

His attention snapped back to Rouge, his eyes narrowed. "These are Amy's keys," he said, his tone suddenly hard enough to shatter diamond. He could've sworn that Rouge's carefully composed expression faltered for a second, but she appeared calm.

"Are they?" she asked, eyeing them.

"Of course they are. Look at them!"

"I don't recognise them," Rouge said casually.

.

Sonic held the photo key ring in her face. "This says it all, don't you think?" Then he clutched the keys tightly in his fist, as a burning fierceness sparked in his eyes. "What the hell is Andy doing with them?" he demanded.

"I'm sure it doesn't mean anything-"

"Doesn't mean anything? He's got her _keys!" _Sonic shouted. "No one leaves their keys at home!"

Rouge sighed, realising that a more hands-on approach was needed. "Look, Sonic," she tried. "It's not what you think."

"You're _covering_ for him?" he cried.

"No, it's not like that. He was just looking after them for her-"

.

"I don't believe this!" Sonic exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. "You were in on it with him the whole time, weren't you?" Suddenly he froze, watching her as understating dawned on his face. "That's why you won't tell me where he lives," he said, gritting his teeth. "That's where he's staying, isn't it?"

"Sonic, if you'd just let me explain-"

"There's nothing to explain!" He began pacing back and forth in the space of Rouge's living room. "I should have known," he growled, anger seeping from his body. "The whole time… The _whole_ _time_ I'd been searching with him and he had _these?_"

.

"You've got it wrong," Rouge insisted, but her wide eyes betrayed her. "Just listen to me for a second."

Sonic stopped pacing to aim his furious glare at her. "I don't need to," he said, straightening. "I get it, Rouge. I know _exactly_ what has been going on here." He moved to the door, clenching the handle with a tense fist.

"Sonic, wait!" Rouge cried, but she was met with a rush of wind in her face as Sonic burst out of the building. A vacant silence fell in the apartment, as the streak of blue quickly faded. She stared at the empty doorway, feeling her stomach drop. This was _not_ good.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not sure how to feel about this chapter. I'm half-proud, half-worried about it. I worked really hard on it (somehow I spent all day writing half of it) but my mind sort of took over and I'm not sure how well I controlled it...<br>Anyway, I hope you liked it. I really appreciate your feedback :)  
>P.S. This is random but the new image manager is so exciting isn't it? :D I'm definitely gonna draw covers for my stories! x3<strong>


	18. Destruction

**UGH. Sorry about the wait :/ I just wasn't happy with this chapter. Nothing came out how I wanted it to...  
>A huge thank you to you wonderful, patient people: <em>h.p.123, Super-Shadow1248, Skyelara, 4everLucky18, anon, xxBrownSugarxx, Viky, Alexandra the Leopard, Hollie the hedgehog, Comrade Athelwine, Mephiles-Lover-2011, Karanma Maeryl, ChillyNight, Danielle Fenton, xxRozuMariixx, Mi123, Randomkid2012, Miss Topaz, shirinuigoddeviantart, Juliix, ShadAmy4Eva, sonamyfangirl1234, rainbowprincess, Maximum Miles Hedgehog, RachelTheHedgehog, demon <em>and _Jade the Fox._ I can't thank you all enough.  
>I just really hope that you enjoy this chapter. I must admit I'm doubtful, but I'll leave it to your judgement...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 18 - Destruction<strong>

The doors of the workshop slammed open as Sonic raced inside. He zipped between the rooms, checking for any sign of Tails. The journey there had been nothing compared to his usual distances and yet he was panting as if he'd never run a day in his life. He sped into the kitchen, noticing a yellow Post-it note stuck to the door. In neat, print-like handwriting, Tails had written, '_Sonic. I've gone to help Andy fix Amy's door. I should be back soon. _'

Sonic ripped it off the door, crumpling the paper in his fist. _Andy wants to fix Amy's door, huh? Yeah, I bet he does,_ he thought bitterly. He felt every muscle in his body tense with rage. Within seconds, he was back out of the workshop, leaving the note in a scrunched up ball on the floor.

"That should do it," Tails said, wiping his brow.

Amy stepped back to evaluate their work. Large wooden planks with rough edges were nailed over her door in an attempt to cover the gaping hole that Sonic had made. It worked, but it was unsightly to say the least. She bit her lip, deciding that when this was over she was buying a new door. Tails must have picked up on her scepticism, as he turned back to smile at her, almost apologetically.

"I know it's not perfect but it will keep out any more burglars," he said. "I'm just worried about what Amy will say when she sees it."

"Nah, it's… it's good," she assured him, while trying to assure herself. "Amy will be glad that we've fixed it."

.

Tails nodded, looking over the door again. "If only we could test it," he said thoughtfully. "It's hard to say whether or not the lock's been damaged, and we don't have any keys to see if it is."

"Maybe _these_ will help," a new voice growled. It was a familiar, masculine voice, and anger seeped out of it.

Tails and Amy whipped around to see Sonic walk out of the shadows, clenching something in his fist. Amy felt her stomach drop and a sickly sensation churn her insides as her eyes fell on what he was holding. She froze. He lifted the bunch of keys higher, his gaze focused solely on her.

_He knows_, she thought, panic flooding her system. She felt her mouth dry up as she desperately tried to conjure something to say.

.

"Sonic! Aren't those Amy's keys?" Tails asked, watching his hedgehog brother with wide-eyes.

"Yeah," Sonic said, still glaring at Amy.

Tails glanced between the two hedgehogs, bewildered. "But… where did you get them from?"

"Why don't you ask _Andy?_" Sonic briefly surrendered his fierceness, giving Amy a chance to answer. There was a hint of hope in his eyes, as if he was waiting to hear something that would fix everything.

Amy fidgeted, clenching and unclenching her fists. "Sonic, I…" she tried, struggling to voice something from the hundreds of phrases in her head. "I just…" She paused again, unable to look away from him. She was forced to stare into his lime green eyes, as emerald flames of anger flickered across his gaze. "It's not…" Her breathing grew heavier, ricocheting inside her ears, and she swallowed, unable to continue.

.

Sonic narrowed his eyes again. "You lied," he said, his tone dangerously low. "You've been lying the whole time."

"I didn't think–"

"You know exactly where Amy is, don't you?"

Tails stared at them, his ears flattening. He stayed silent, afraid to interrupt.

"I'm sorry!" Amy choked. "I'm sorry, Sonic, I didn't mean–"

"I trusted you!" Sonic shouted, making Amy flinch. His rage was partly tinged with hurt, as he continued. "I trusted you, and you were lying to me!"

"I know! I'm sorry!" Amy had been worried about how Sonic would react when he found out the truth, but she'd never thought that he'd be _this_ angry. He was almost livid. She'd never seen him like this before and it scared her. It was horrible, having him glare at her like that. There was so much resentment in his expression, and it pained her to think that it was her fault.

.

"I-I can't believe you'd do something like that!" Sonic cried, his voice rising even higher. "You acted like you wanted her to come back and yet you were _with_ her, weren't you? You were just hiding her away from everyone!"

Amy stared at him, suddenly feeling very confused. "What?"

"There's no point in denying it now!" Sonic exclaimed. "You just admitted it! While everyone was wondering where she was, looking for her, worrying themselves _sick_ about her, you were _with _her!"

Amy shook her head, her eyes wide. She definitely was not expecting _this_. "I don't understand," she said quietly.

"Oh, I do! I understand, Andy!" he sneered. "You used me so you could be a better fighter, but your side of deal doesn't matter, does it? No! Instead of finding her, _you_ were the one keeping her away.

.

"You set this whole thing up just to be with her! And let me guess, you told her to write that note? What exactly was your plan, huh? Once you'd taken advantage of everyone you were just gonna leave with her, is that it?"

Despite everything, Amy almost smiled in relief that he'd got the wrong idea. He couldn't be this angry at the truth. "Sonic," she breathed. "You've got it all wrong."

"Have I?" he demanded, his tone dripping with acrimony.

"_Yes_."

.

Sonic shook his head. "No, you're the one that's wrong if you think I'll believe that for one second! It all fits, Andy! Everything proves that you're keeping her away! That's why your _'friendship'_ with her was a secret, isn't it? _That's_ why you had her purse and _that's _why you were there on the night that I heard something inside her house! That wasn't a burglar at all, was it? That was you! Which explains why you had these," he snarled, holding up the keys again.

.

"No!" she insisted. "No, Sonic, it's not like that! Just listen!"

"So you can lie again?"

"No, I'm trying to tell you the truth!"

"I _know_ the truth!" he yelled.

Amy's ears lowered. She stared into his angered eyes, suddenly feeling very small. "Sonic, please, just-"

"Don't bother, Andy," he said, his voice finally lowering. "I'm done with the lies, and you've got what you wanted."

.

Amy's eyes welled up with tears. Sonic's quieter voice was almost worse than the shouting; it just made her feel even guiltier. "S-Sonic," she stuttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I hope you and Amy are happy," he said, his tone expressing the very opposite. He shook his head, and with one final, hard look into her eyes, he ran, ruffling the trees with his burst of speed.

Amy watched him leave, hardly able to believe what had just happened. The argument echoed in her mind, but it didn't feel real. In the all of the movies she'd seen, fights were deemed as passionate. The two lovers would shout and scream at each other, and just when all hoped seemed lost, they would end up kissing in the rain. But now that Amy had had her first fight with Sonic, it was nothing like that. There was no sudden fix, no feeling that everything would work out in an instant.

.

She didn't feel any rush of adrenaline or passion. She just felt empty. Over and over again, she heard his words in her mind, saw the bitterness – no, the _hatred_ – in his eyes. He looked so disgusted, so betrayed. Amy hugged her arms, unsure of whether or not the cold was from the evening air or from Sonic's expression. How could it all have gone so wrong? Maybe Sonic's anger was for something that wasn't strictly true, but she'd still lied to him, and she genuinely couldn't be sure that he would forgive her anymore.

.

She'd almost forgotten that Tails was still with her, until he sidled up to her, his eyes wide.

"Andy?" he said quietly. "Is… Is all of that true?"

Amy shook her head, burying her face in her hands. "_No_," she said, her voice muffled. Her throat ached from holding back tears, and they began to leak from her eyes, soaking into her gloves.

"So… what was Sonic talking about?"

"H-he's got it wrong," she sniffed, wishing that her voice wasn't quivering in front of Tails. "But it's my fault!" The image of his face flashed in her mind, and she was once again reminded of the bitterness in his expression. "And now he hates me!" She allowed herself to release a sob.

.

Tails reached out to her, looking nervous despite his sympathy. "Andy?" he said, gently touching her shoulder. "Erm… are you… crying?"

Amy said nothing for a moment, wiping her eyes. "No," she whispered. She wiped them again, taking a deep breath, before turning to her friend. "You believe me, don't you, Tails? Sonic's got the wrong idea."

"Well, I… I don't believe that you'd lie about something like that," he said carefully. "But if Sonic's wrong then what's the truth?"

"I can't say," she murmured. Amy knew that she'd have no choice but to tell the truth before long, but after everything that had happened between her and Sonic, she decided that he had to be the first to know. She felt it was only right. "I'm sorry, Tails, but I need to tell Sonic first. It's complicated. Please understand."

.

Tails tried to send her a smile, though he looked doubtful. "All right," he said. "You can come back to the workshop with me, if you want to. Then you can talk to Sonic if he's back."

Amy sniffed again, hoping to dismiss the sickly feeling in her gut. "Thanks, Tails. I just hope he'll listen to me." As the fox began to walk home Amy held back for a moment, breathing deeply. She stared into the sky, as if it would provide the answers. "What have I done?" she whispered.

.

Tails's offer had given her a slither of hope that she could make things right. If she could just talk to Sonic, explain everything to him, maybe he would understand why she'd gone through with this crazy plan. She prayed that he would. But her hope evaporated the moment that she walked through the workshop doors, finding it completely empty. Tails scratched the back of his head and sighed, after having checked all of the rooms once more.

"I guess he's still running," he said quietly. "It doesn't look like he's going to come back tonight."

.

Amy held her fist up to her mouth, mostly because she was afraid she would start crying again.

"He's done this before," Tails added, hoping to reassure his friend. "Sometimes he just stays out of town for a few days. But he'll be back eventually."

The saddened hedgehog nodded. "Thanks anyway."

"You… You could always stay overnight?" he suggested. "Maybe Sonic just needs to cool off. He might come back tomorrow morning, and you could talk to him then."

Amy considered. "I would really appreciate that, Tails. Thank you," she said, trying to sound a bit more cheerful. "You're a really good friend, you know that?"

"It's nothing really. You're welcome," he smiled, his tails swishing.

.

The young fox was more than hospitable and he tried his best to make Amy feel at home. She was grateful for his efforts, but nothing could seem to quell the worry that was swirling around in her head. He offered her a spare bed that was perfectly comfortable, and yet she tossed and turned that night as if she was lying on a pile of stones. She clutched the duvet close to her body, trying to encourage all of the comfort she could get from it. What if Sonic didn't come back tomorrow? What if he didn't come back for the rest of the week? What if he didn't come back at all? She felt the sickness in her gut grow at the thought. What if he just decided to stay wherever he was forever? What if he ended up finding a new home and new friends and broke off contact with everyone else?

.

The surge of questions was driving her crazy. She rolled over again, deciding to give up on trying to sleep. How could she sleep when she had no idea where Sonic was? Maybe she'd have to look for him… But she didn't know where she would possibly start. It was killing her, this feeling of hopelessness. There was nothing she could do that would get him back.

.

Then she realised. This was what it felt like. _This_ was what Sonic must have been feeling when he found out that she was gone. He thought she'd just disappeared without a trace and yet she was there the whole time, and now it was happening to her. Amy clenched her eyes shut as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Oh, _Sonic_," she whimpered, clutching her pillow. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I'm _so sorry_, Sonic."

This despair, this anxiety, this utter sense of being powerless was what Sonic had experienced, because of her. She couldn't have imagined that it would feel this bad. The main reason that she'd set up this stupid scheme was so that she could be closer to him and make him happy, but she'd only ended up hurting him in the process.

.

She wiped the wetness off her cheek and breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. There was no point in worrying now; she just needed to hold on until tomorrow. That was the thought that she clung onto as she fell asleep, and it was the final ray of hope that managed to get her out of bed the next day. Amy had always been an early riser but she soon found that she'd slept in so late that it was just past midday. Tails was already in the kitchen, and he offered her a tired smile as she walked in. She tried to smile back, but immediately her attention was stolen by the fact that there was no blue hedgehog in the room.

"He's still not back?" she said, adjusting her cap.

.

Tails shook his head. "Sorry." He reached for one of the cupboards, but paused as his wrist-communicator starting beeping, its tiny light flashing wildly. He opened it. Both he and Amy gasped as the distant sound of screaming and explosions filled the room, as a voice tried to make itself heard.

Amy strained her ears to listen while she deciphered the voice as Cosmo's.

"Tails?" Cosmo called over the noise in the background. "Tails, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, what's going on, Cosmo?" Tails cried, panicked.

"Eggman's attacking the city! He's got those robots you were telling me about, with the huge arms! But there are more of them! They're everywhere, I don't know what to do! Is Sonic with you?"

.

Tails ran his hand through his bangs. "He's not around right now," he said, his blue eyes flickering with worry. "But I can bring the _X-Tornado_! Just hang on, Cosmo, I'll be there soon as I can!" He slammed his wrist-comm shut and ran into the garage, shouting, "Come on, Andy!"

Amy ran after him, feeling sick. He was already inside the plane and hurriedly flicking switches when she reached him. He gestured for her to climb aboard and she swallowed. She couldn't do this as Andy, but she wasn't ready to be Amy, not without Sonic.

.

"I can't," she said, sounding as helpless as she felt."I'm not good at this sort of thing."

"Yes, you can! There's no one else who can help us! We need you, Andy!" Tails exclaimed. "Hasn't Sonic been training you?"

Amy looked down, clenching her fists. He _had_ been training her, and what for if not for situations like this? Wasn't this her chance, what she'd been waiting for? She'd learnt so much without her hammer that she was confident enough without it. She could finally prove her strength as a fighter. Maybe this really was Andy's time to shine.

.

Without another second's thought she jumped onto the plane, swinging herself into the seat behind Tails. "Let's do this," she said.

The glass cockpit shield lowered automatically to encase the two, as the engines fired up with a roar. Tails pulled a lever and the plane began to accelerate across the ground. The sound of the engines grew louder as it sped up, until the wheels were lifted off the ground and they soared into the sky. Amy held onto her seat, mentally preparing herself for the battle ahead. She could do this. She had to, to prove that everything had been worth it.

.

Her mind reached out to her hours of practice with Sonic, recalling the techniques that he'd taught her. With each memory that passed through her mind, the image of Sonic's face lingered, trying to weigh her down with guilt. She suppressed it, forcing herself to focus solely on what he'd taught her. The different moves that she'd learnt circled her mind as she ticked off each one. She hardly even noticed that they'd arrived until a nearby explosion shook the plane, making her jump. She looked out of the window, and was met with the sight of the town in ruins.

.

Cosmo hadn't been exaggerating. There were far more robots than last time. Smoke was billowing from several wreckages of buildings, and the ground was webbed with cracks. As Amy climbed out of the _X-Tornado_, the smell of burning hit her nose. She scanned the area, grateful that nobody had been hurt. Most of the citizens had clustered on the borderline of the town, watching in horror. Amy's hopes rose as she saw that Knuckles and Rouge were already in the area, fighting off some of the robots. They had destroyed two or three, though it hardly compared to the mass of machines that still plagued the streets. Eggman floated above the action in his Egg Mobile, a malicious grin across his face.

.

"Try as you might, you can't win!'" he crowed, as Knuckles and Rouge continued to tackle the robots, one at a time. "My F-Series robots are made of the strongest reinforced steel! By the time you've disabled them all, it'll be too late! This city will be demolished, ready for the construction of the Eggman Empire!"

"That's what _you_ think!" shouted Tails, as he and Amy ran to join the scene.

Eggman cackled. "Oh, how pleasant!" he sneered. "Everyone's here for the revolution!" Then he looked around, his grin briefly morphing into a scowl. "Where's that blue hedge rat, Sonic?" Then his maniacal smile returned. "Well, it looks like we'll have to continue the celebrations without him! F-Series robots, attack these fools who dare to defy my empire! We can finish play time later," he snickered.

.

Every single robot present turned away from the buildings and focused their attention on the heroes, their glowing yellow eyes narrowing. Tails began to twirl his namesakes, ready to fly into the air at any moment. Knuckles and Rouge immediately attacked the robot closest to them, working together to bring it down. Several of the mechanical beasts stormed towards Tails and Amy, who assumed their battle stances. Tails began to fly around the robots, narrowly avoiding the swings of their giant arms, allowing them to crash into each other. Amy stood with her fists clenched, allowing the pieces of advice from Sonic to repeat in her mind.

_Wrist straight, _she reminded herself, as a robot advanced on her. _Relax. Breathe in, breathe out._

.

Panic threatened to rise up her throat as the robot reached her but she forced it back down. _I can do this._

The robot raised its huge arm and swiftly brought it down again. Amy dodged it, feeling the air beside her change as it missed her arm. She used the second of pause to slam her fist into its body, and winced as a familiar pain reverberated through her arm. The panic resurfaced.

_It's not working! _

.

Suddenly Tails was hovering beside her. "Their weak point is their joints! They have no armour there!" he cried, moving away again as the robot swung at him. To demonstrate, he kicked another robot's knee, and sparks flew as the metal creature staggered.

"Got it!" Amy called, recalculating her moves. She ducked as the robot swung its arm again, and ran towards the base of its arm, finding that its armour did indeed have a small gap. In one, fluid motion she sprang upwards and punched its metal shoulder as hard as she possibly could. It hurt just as much as the first punch, but to her relief the metal dented and the arm slanted, almost broken completely. A crackling sound emanated from the robot as the wires in its arm snapped.

.

Amy inwardly cheered, but that was only half of her problem. It swung its other arm straight at her and she dodged it at the last second, nearly losing her balance. She gritted her teeth. The arm whipped towards her again and she jumped, pushing off of it to slam a kick into the single joint that was holding it up. In seconds the robot was rendered defenceless. Amy quickly punched its mechanical knees, and it toppled to the ground, fizzling. The light in its eyes died out as the metal creature shut down. Amy frowned, wiping her brow. It had taken a lot of effort just to destroy one robot and there was still a hoard of them to be taken care of. She was handling it well enough, but she didn't know for how long she'd be able to keep it up.

.

As much as she'd learnt and felt confident enough alone, she found herself praying that, sooner or later, Sonic would show up. He always did. He somehow seemed to know when Mobius was in danger, and he'd always come just in time. She eyed the new load of robots advancing on her, and she tried to conjure her hero's self-assured smirk. She had to do this not only for Mobius, for her friends, for Sonic, but for herself. She was determined to defend her town to the very best of her ability, and nothing was going to stop her.

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><p><strong>Well I hope you all enjoyed that. I just got so frustrated with myself that I wasn't updating soon enough and, ugh, I don't know... I can't help feeling that it comes across as rushed?<br>Anyway, tell me what you think. :)**

**P.S. I've made a new poll, to find out how you guys heard of my stories (perhaps a bit cheeky of me :P), so, please, check it out and cast your votes! ^_^ Thanks.  
>Also, I'm working on a cover for this story. It's taking forever, even though you probably won't even be able to see the detail, but oh well...<strong>


	19. Hero

**There's really nothing I can say to make the over-2-month wait less awful, but I'm really sorry about that. I just seemed to lose inspiration. My writing became incredily slow (and I've just started college). Anyway, you can thank the brilliant Skyelara for editing this for me so that I could finally post it. She was very helpful and only once she'd looked at this did I think I could post it. So a massive thank you to you, Skyelara :)**

**And a huge thank you to everyone who read and reviewed (and put up with the ridiculous wait...) :_Karanma Maeryl, hotpink123, XoxoSonamy4440oxoX, Maximum Miles Hedgehog, Moon over Rainbow, BrownPaperBear, Jade the Fox, November Ember, xxBrownSugarxx, demon, Hollie the hedgehog, pura blaze, Danielle Fenton, shirinuigoddeviantart, Comrade Athelwine, Guest, Mi123, eternalthiefoftehnight, Spectacular Super Nova, Super-Shadow1248, ChillyNight, Guest, Guest, _:P .. _IHeartSonAmy, __ rainbowprincess, Saziie, blaze, Kaikai Kitsune, Skyelara, SHADOW SHADOW SHADOW IS SEXY, shade. .ota, Onyx Orchid, Guest _(sorry it took so long), _1sonamyaddicted, RaeRaethehedgehog _and _xShadowxRocksx_. **

**Whoa it's been so long that some of you have changed your names/pictures! O_O sorry about that...  
>And I know you shouldn't take review numbers as a measure of success, and there are nearly 20 chapters, but I'm still thrilled to have over 300 reviews. :) Thank you so much everyone!<br>Anyway, I won't keep you any longer... I hope you enjoy what I'm pretty sure is the penultimate chapter of Me, Myself and Andy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 19 - Hero<strong>

Amy shifted her weight from one foot to another, analysing the robots ahead of her. Her eyes shifted between them, calculating her chances of success against the metal brutes. They quickly advanced towards her, and she dismissed her doubts, replacing them with determination. Three robots were a lot to take down on her own but she'd give it her best shot. They moved in formation, cracking the ground with each booming step that they took. Rather than waiting for them to reach her, Amy raced towards the robot at the front of the clan.

_Their joints are their weakness_, she reminded herself, focusing on its mechanical knees.

.

She readied her arm for a punch, but was forced to jump back as two other robots shot out their arms from either side of her target. Their huge fists slammed into the ground and Amy barely contained a frightened yelp. She scrambled backwards, panting. A quick glance upwards showed a couple more robots had reached her, preparing to attack. When had they got here?

_Focus! _

.

Amy swallowed, forcing her brow to furrow into the strongest glare she could muster for the robots. In seconds, she was running at them again. She panicked as three of them attacked at once. Her view was obscured by metal arms before she'd even had time to move. They'd missed, thankfully, but it also meant that she was trapped by the maze of mechanical limbs that surrounded her. A sudden yell stole her attention. Through the gaps in her vision, Amy could see Tails pinned to the floor by one of the robots, quivering in fear. His teal eyes were wide as he gaped at the robot's free arm, raised and ready to strike. He didn't even struggle. He simply lay still, frozen in terror.

.

"Tails!" Amy cried.

"Don't let him escape!" Eggman ordered his robots, pointing at the cage-like structure that had been formed around her.

In response, the three robots imprisoning her moved closer, enforcing the circle of powerful limbs.

Amy tugged at the cold, hard metal of the robots' arms, desperately trying to get to the fox. "Hang on, Tails!" She quickly scanned the area, her eyes pleading for the sight of Knuckles or Rouge available to help him, but they too were struggling to fight off the robots.

They wouldn't make it in time. None of them could. Alarm raced through Amy's mind as she realised this. The robot trapping him wasted no time in swinging its arm down in full force. Then there was a flash of blue. A gust of wind blasted through the air.

.

The mechanical arm crashed into nothing but concrete, encouraging clouds of dust. The metal of the robot's legs had been completely torn. Seconds later, the entire creature crashed to the ground, sending out an ear-splitting boom. Sonic appeared in the centre of the battleground with a glare on his face and Tails in his arms. He set his brother down on his feet, checking him over for injuries. Relief settled in Amy's stomach, while at the same time tingles of anxiety gave her butterflies. Was Sonic's anger from the robots or was he still mad at her? She dismissed these thoughts. Either way, maybe with Sonic here, they had a chance of defeating these things.

.

Surprisingly, Dr. Eggman's grin only grew as he acknowledged Sonic's arrival. "Sonic! You're finally here," he called to the hedgehog, snickering. "It's about time. I was beginning to think that you were going to miss the main event."

"Keep your freak shows to yourself, Eggman!" Sonic said as a growl escaped his curled lips.

Amy felt her heart sink at the anger radiating from the blue hedgehog. He wasn't bantering with his nemesis in the way that he usually would. There was no challenging grin on his face, just a scowl.

.

"Oh, but what would be the fun in that? Now that you're here, I can reveal the biggest attraction of all!" Eggman said, followed by a maniacal laugh. "And just to be a good sport, I'm going to make things easier for you! Instead of fighting my entire army of robots, how about fighting one?" His evil smile widened as he slammed his fist onto a large button on his control panel.

The robots froze. All of them, except the ones keeping Sonic's allies busy, began making their way towards the hedgehog. As they gathered, they climbed on top of each other, stacking themselves higher and higher. The sheer number of them was made clear as a new creature began to take shape, and the heroes had to shield their eyes from the sunlight.

.

With every metallic clunk that sounded, the creature grew larger until it was finalised with a forceful hiss from the hydraulics. A flicker of light flashed from the robot and as it faded, the new form was fully visible. The Mobians stared at the new foe, overwhelmed.

"Meet Eraditron," Eggman said grandly.

Few singular robots remained; the rest of them had combined to make what was one of the biggest robots that Dr. Eggman had ever created. It towered above them, casting an almost infinite shadow across the town. Amy's hope drained away at the sight, and she clenched her fists tighter.

.

Eggman hooted with crazed laughter, relishing in the awe from his spectators. "Don't look so worried, Sonic!" he sneered. "After all, you have the advantage. Five heads are better than one! Though, your friends will have their own problems to take care of," he added, gleefully gesturing the robots left behind.

Sonic stared at his new rival, narrowing his eyes. "I can take whatever you throw at me!" he shouted.

Eggman's glasses seemed to flash in response as he reached for his control panel. "Let's test that, shall we? Eraditron, destroy that blue pest!"

.

Before Amy knew what was happening, she was watching Sonic battle one of the largest robots that she'd ever seen. Her eyes were glued to the fight, following Sonic's every move as he dodged the robot's attacks and sent them right back. But something wasn't right. He seemed distant, somehow, as if his body was fighting Eggman's robots but his mind was elsewhere. His reflexes were just that tiny bit slower and his attacks seemed to lack his usual power. They were very small differences and Amy was aware of that, but she knew that if he made one mistake, the power from that robot could seriously hurt him.

.

Sonic flipped backwards out of his spindash and landed deftly on the ground, eyeing the damage done to the robot. There was a small dent but it was hardly enough to disable it. He cursed under his breath. He knew full well that he hadn't used his full power but he was distracted. He could feel Andy's eyes on him, watching him. He didn't have to look back, he just knew. Not that he wanted to look anyway; it would only get him even more frustrated than he already was. No, he really did not need to give that traitor another second of his time_. _

.

A torrent of rage, blended with a sting of anguish, rushed through him at the thought of his former friend. How dare Andy lie to him like that? How could he find it in himself to betray someone so terribly? Sonic's mind snapped back into the present as pain slammed into his gut. Winded, he gripped his stomach and winced, keeping the determined frown on his face. Eraditron prepared itself for another punch, its glowing eyes almost taunting the hedgehog.

.

Sonic's teeth sunk into the insides of his mouth as he forced himself to concentrate. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted, even if Andy's betrayal was tainting his thoughts, infuriating him. He leapt into the air, avoiding another punch, and drove a kick into Eraditron's head. Once again, he made a dent but otherwise little damage. He jumped back, staying on his toes and ready for the next blow. His eyes swept the robot, searching for the next target. This was Sonic's forte. This was what he did day in, day out. This shouldn't have been a problem, but his thoughts drifted away again, out of his control.

.

He was desperately trying to keep his attention on the battle at hand, and yet it was becoming increasingly difficult. He found his mind drawn to memories of his time with Andy. Snippets of the past few weeks flashed through his head at impossible speeds. Andy practicing battle skills with him. Andy encouraging him to face his fear of water. Andy comforting him when he thought everything was his fault. Andy noticing that Sonic was distressed when no one else could. Andy… helping Sonic search for Amy, cheering him up, making him laugh, giving him such a valuable friendship.

And all of it was a lie.

.

Sonic had never really felt emotional pain but it almost stung. It was unlike anything he'd felt before. It swept through him, fuelling every cell in his body with anger. Then there was a new pain. A physical pain. Alarm bells rang in his mind as he realised he'd been hit again. The ground seemed to creep up from behind him as he fell, his entire body tensing. He groaned, slowly pulling himself to his feet. He needed to snap out of this. He'd fought countless robots in his time, and each one had required little concentration. He'd always relied on his reflexes to do the job, and his body would do the fighting without him needing to plan and structure every single move he made. But this time was different. His mind was simply lost, and it was refusing to cooperate with him.

.

He was slammed into the ground again before he'd even noticed the attack. He couldn't even cry out; he was becoming increasingly weaker by the second. His stomach felt like it was on fire where the metal beast had swung its enormous arms into him.

"Sonic!"

His ears shot up. That sounded like… He craned his head back, ignoring the throbbing pain in his neck as he did so. She wasn't there. Though a pink hedgehog was watching him with wide eyes, it wasn't her.

_Now I'm getting delusional. _

He was so messed up he was imagining things, though he could've sworn he'd heard Amy's voice. He grunted as he staggered up from the floor, his legs quivering with the strain.

.

Sonic was almost angry at himself for confusing her with _him_. She was nothing like him. She would never betray him like that.

_But she left…_

He pushed himself to attack the robot, ignoring the burning sensation in his muscles. He threw every ounce of his strength into it but try as he might, he couldn't block the stream of thoughts that pulled his mind off course.

_She left us. She left _me_… for him._

It didn't make sense to him. He couldn't wrap his head around it. Out of all of the people who'd cared about him, she was the most devoted. What had happened to change that?

_What did I do wrong?_

.

He hardly felt the next blow as solid metal once again made contact with his body. He barely noticed how hard the ground was as his back was hammered into the concrete. His vision was becoming dotted with black. Someone called his name again but he ignored it. He tried with all of his might to get back up, willing his muscles to work with him, holding his breath and routing all of his energy into one last push. He'd moved less than a few inches off the ground before his limbs collapsed beneath him.

.

Something sharp dug into his back as he fell, making him wince. He reached into his quills, his fingertips sweeping over hard, pointy objects. A flare of hope was sparked inside of him as he retrieved two Chaos Emeralds from underneath his back, thanking his lucky stars that he'd found them. It was quickly extinguished, however, when his eyes fell upon the dull, lifeless grey of the gems. His heart sank as he remembered his last serious battle with Eggman, before he'd met Andy and all of this mess had started. The crazed scientist had drained the emeralds of their power before scattering them once again. Though Sonic and his friends had found a few since then, each jewel they found was in this state and completely powerless.

.

Despite that, Sonic held one in each hand and closed his eyes, hoping that his good will and desperation would be enough to trigger the tingling warmth that would engulf his body and heal his wounds. But nothing happened. No energy was released into his hands, and the Chaos Emeralds remained dim and bleak. He clutched them harder, tensing his fatigued muscles. Still, the emeralds were lifeless. He let his hands relax their grip on the useless gems as a cough escaped his throat, and the last of his hopes shattered.

.

"Sonic!" Amy screamed again. She tugged at the metal arms that imprisoned her, grunting and straining as she tried to prise them open. She needed to get to him. She needed to help him. Her ragged breaths tore at her lungs as she watched, with wide eyes, the gargantuan robot taking its final crushing steps towards Sonic. Why wasn't he moving? Why didn't he get up? "Sonic! Sonic, _look out!_"

The fallen hero did nothing to answer her call. Couldn't he hear her? He was awake; she could see his eyes tiredly scanning the robot as it reached him. Surely he hadn't given up?

.

"Sonic!" she tried again. It came out as a desperate scream, a plea, and she didn't care if it was in her real voice. In fact, she hoped it would snap him out of it, but he didn't seem to notice. What was wrong with him?

Eraditron's eyes glinted as it reached the hedgehog, almost as if it knew it had won, and raised its powerful arm. In less than a second, Amy realised two things. The robot was going to strike, and Sonic wasn't going to move. Someone had to do something, _anything_. Her eyes darted between their allies. Tails must have tried to run back into the battlefield, but one of the robots was now holding him captive. A fresh dose of panic clutched Amy's insides as she saw that Knuckles and Rouge had been given the same fate. Large metal hands clutched them both, sealing their arms against them and rendering them helpless.

.

Just as when Tails had been in danger, no one was free to help. But this time, Sonic wouldn't come to the rescue. This time, the hero needed saving. The only person that Amy hadn't considered was herself, but what could she do? She was trapped, and just as helpless as the rest of them. This must have been Eggman's plan, she realised, to hold them all off while he focused on Sonic, snuffing him out like a dying flame.

_No,_ she thought wildly. _No! He can't!_

But what was stopping him? Eraditron's colossal arm would crush Sonic in mere seconds, and no one would be able to do anything about it.

I _will. _

.

Amy wasn't sure where that thought had come from. All that she was aware of was that if she didn't do something now, Sonic could die. So much terror was induced from that one piece of truth, and it swelled, pushing aside all other qualms. It didn't matter if everyone found out who she was; Sonic needed help and he needed it _now._ Despite her shaking hands, she managed to snap her fingers, hoping to summon her hammer. Her hand automatically curled into a clutching position, but it was empty. Her fear heightened. She tried again, her mind swarming with panicked, fragmented thoughts.

_Come on, come _on_, _she pleaded, clicking her fingers frantically.

.

She tried over and over again, but still no hammer appeared in her hands. She choked on a frightened sob, lost on why she couldn't summon it. Could it be that she hadn't used it in so long that she'd forgotten how to? No, that was impossible. It might have had something to do with the fact that she could hardly think straight, but she couldn't change that while the love of her life was about to die.

Eggman brought his hovercraft over to Sonic and the monstrous robot, obviously planning to enjoy every second of this. If there was any time left to stop him, it had almost run out.

.

Amy scanned her makeshift prison, eyeing the robots' fists that had plunged into the ground. They were all stuck fast; there was no way she could move them. All except one. With a glint of hope she realised that one robot's hand was resting on the concrete rather than stuck inside it. She didn't pause to go over a plan. Without wasting another second she kicked at the metal fist, taking the robot by surprise and knocking it over. She saw her opening and she took it, diving out of the gap between the metal arms.

.

Then, she ran.

.

Everything around her, apart from Sonic and the robot threatening him, seeped away as she charged forwards. Her already pounding heart was now beating at impossible speeds. She wasn't even sure if she was breathing at this point; every part of her was tense. With each step that brought her closer to Sonic her pulse seemed to go faster. She'd practically reached him when Eraditron brought down its arm. She was mere seconds away from pushing Sonic out of its reach, but these were seconds that she didn't have. As the giant metal arm came crashing to the ground, Amy leaped, throwing all of her energy into it. Arms outstretched, she knocked into it, pushing it off course. A searing pain burst from her hands and soared up her arms from the sheer force of her lunge, bringing tears to her eyes, which she did her best to ignore.

.

Eraditron's arm cracked the concrete less than a metre away from Sonic's head, and Amy tumbled to the ground not far behind. She pulled herself back up, rushing to defend her hero. Hooking her arms under his, she dragged him back, as far away from Eraditron as she could get before it pulled its arm back out of the ground.

"Andy," Sonic wheezed, squinting up at her. "W-what are you doing?"

"What a _good friend_ should," she said firmly.

The robot in front of them raised its fists again, clearly not discouraged in the slightest. Amy ran in front of Sonic, as close to the robot as she could get, hoping to distract its attention from him.

"This battle is between you and _me_ now," she told Eraditron. Then, more forcefully, she said, "Leave Sonic _alone_."

.

The robot simply stared at her for a moment, and she couldn't help but think that it was scrutinising her. Eggman appeared beside it in his hovercraft, his malevolent smile still stretched across his face.

"Nice try, hedgehog, but my robots only accept orders from their master," he sneered. He clicked at the robot. "Eraditron, destroy them both. But Sonic is your priority."

"No!" Amy cried as the colossal robot aimed at Sonic. She attacked its arm, throwing as many kicks and punches as she could muster. Her muscles could hardly stand the strain of it, but she was fuelled by pure adrenaline, sparked from her fear for her hero.

.

Her attacks weren't dealing as much damage as she'd hoped, but she was managing to keep the metal beast away from Sonic and that was all that mattered to her. Eraditron prepared for another strike, in spite of the hedgehog damaging it. Amy clung onto its arm, refusing to let go no matter how much her muscles begged her to. There was no way she was letting Sonic get hurt again.

.

Sonic stared at the hedgehog and robot before him, ignoring the burning sensation in his neck as he did so. Andy was latched onto Eraditron's arm, holding on for all he was worth. Eraditron swung its restricted limb higher, leaving Andy hanging like a rag doll, yet he still would not let go. In that moment, Sonic's pain - both physical and emotional – was forgotten. Andy briefly changed, in his eyes, from a traitor to someone who was risking their life to save his, against all odds.

.

It didn't change the fact that Andy had betrayed him, but even through the haze of hurt and anger, Sonic could see that Andy cared. He cared enough to put everything on the line just to save Sonic from his own stupidity. That thought alone was enough to bring warmth to Sonic's heart. He could practically feel it, a familiar tingling sensation. With a jolt it dawned on him that he really could feel something, but it was in his hands. He glanced down at them and found himself having to squint. The emeralds in his hands were glowing. Pulsating waves of violet and blazing white burned inside each emerald respectively, sending energy shooting up Sonic's arms and around his body.

.

They'd regained their power. Out of nowhere the emeralds had found their power just in time to help him when he needed it. But it couldn't be out of nowhere; that was impossible.

_Of course. Chaos is the power enriched by the heart…_

As if on cue, the energy collected around his wounds, healing them instantly. He was filled with a new fiery determination. He couldn't be Super Sonic without all seven Chaos Emeralds, but two was enough to teach that pile of scrap metal a lesson. He got to his feet with ease, welcoming the newfound strength in his body. Finally his trademark smirk regained its place on his lips, as he moved towards Eraditron, the energy still bouncing around inside of him.

.

Amy felt the wind knocked out of her as Eraditron managed to shake her off, flinging her onto the ground as if she weighed nothing. She coughed, struggling to get air back into her lungs. Every inch of her was in pain and dizziness was starting to take hold of her body, but she had to get back up. Sonic _needed _her. She pushed her hands into the concrete below her, trying to lift herself up, but her arms would not allow it. A glowing light appeared some distance beside her, and through the increasingly dark haze in her vision she could make out Sonic standing upright, clutching two shining Chaos Emeralds in his hands.

.

Relief washed over her. He was okay. She'd at least been able to hold off the robot long enough for him to heal himself. She had no idea how he'd managed to restore the emeralds' power, but at that point she was too exhausted to care. She watched Sonic brace himself, ready and more than capable of taking care of Eraditron. Allowing herself to relax, the last thing she saw was Sonic leaping towards the robot before the darkness conquered her vision completely.

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><p><strong>Well, I hope you enjoyed that, and once again thank you for your patience. And thank you so much, Skyelara, for your editing :)<br>This story is finally drawing to a close... **


	20. Amy Rose

**There really is nothing I can say to even begin to compensate for the ridiculously long wait. I'm not even sure of how it happened. I just drifted away from the story and slowly lost inspiration. Now that I've started college the workload is _immense_ and it really threw me off but I know these things don't excuse it so enough of that.  
>FINALLY, I've updated. But I couldn't have done it without the amazing Skyelara being my beta. She was always willing to go over it and she gave me such good advice. Thank you, Skyelara. This chapter is dedicated to you. :)<br>**

**Thank you so so _so_ much to everyone who has ever read, reviewed or favourited this story. It means so much to me and I feel awful for leaving you all hanging. Time for the final shout-out :') _Skyelara, SmileRen, Karanma Maeryl, PinkblurAmy, Super-Shadow1248, hot pink123, hollie the hedgehog, Scourge's number one stalker, XxXxchilidogluvXxXx, SonamyLovah, Danielle Fenton, BlueyO, Moon over Rainbow, IOwnSonicX, brittney THE hedgehog99, Fennec the Fox, RaptureEntince, Zari Thorn96, xxBrownSugarxx, Starfrost of ThornClan, 4everLucky18, Miss Topaz, MegaTJ, Pura blaze, Asakura-chan, Clove the girl with knives 59, BlueTheHedgehog1, Nicoleathome, Milo's crazy123, cece, The Empty Lord _(I'm really sorry) and the guest reviewers, thank you all for your lovely reviews.  
>Your kind words have made me smile time and time again. You didn't deserve the wait and I'm truly sorry for that. <strong>

**At least I've learned a valuable lesson: plan your stories.**

**I can't thank you enough for not giving up on me. I means the world. :')  
>And once again, I apologise for the wait. (I can tell I'm going to get several lectures... O_o)<strong>

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the finale of Me, Myself and Andy. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 20 – Amy Rose<strong>

The ceiling wavered through Amy's lidded gaze as she blinked rapidly in effort to wake herself up. Her vision seemed to split in two, drifting aimlessly, before finally slotting back into place. She squinted, slowly becoming aware of a distant throbbing in her head. As the nerves in her body slowly came back to life, she sat up and observed her surroundings, surprised to find herself on a bed. The familiar cream-coloured walls and the scent of the sheets below her seeped into her mind, reminding her of where she was. Tails's Workshop.

.

She closed her eyes, willing her memories to engulf her. She remembered fighting Eraditron, keeping it away from Sonic. She remembered struggling, clinging onto the robot for all she was worth. Then Sonic had appeared. He'd been… healed somehow? And then… The rest was black. She must have passed out, which meant that someone must have brought her here.

.

The thought had barely left her mind before she forced herself out of bed, staggering from the sudden movement and the accompanying dizziness. She grabbed her sunglasses, clumsily settling them on her nose, and made her way into the main workshop. She found Tails sitting at his desk, tinkering with a small gadget. His ears perked up, alert, at the sound of her entering the room and he swivelled to face her, a comforting smile on his face.

"You're awake," he said. "That was quick. I thought you'd be out for a while longer."

Amy cleared her throat, relieved to find the remaining traces of light-headedness fading away. "Did… did you bring me here?" she asked. But before he could answer, a stream of questions spilled from her lips. "What happened to Sonic? Is he okay? Did he beat that robot?"

.

"Of course he did," he replied, chuckling slightly at her panic. "And he's fine. After the Chaos Emeralds healed him, he had no problem."

"The Chaos Emeralds did that? But I thought they'd lost their power."

"So did I, but somehow they regained it just when Sonic needed it most. Although," he said thoughtfully, "they've never done that when there were less than seven before. I didn't think it was possible."

Amy looked down for a moment. "Chaos is the power enriched by the heart," she murmured. Could it be…? A tiny smile pulled at her lips. "Is he here?" she asked.

.

Tails shook his head. "He left as soon as he'd brought you back here," he said.

Amy's attention snapped back onto Tails, her heart lifting. "_Sonic_ brought me here?"

"Yeah, after he beat Eggman's robot."

She felt her hope - guarded as it was - begin to grow. "I need to talk to him!" she said. "Did he tell you where he was going?"

"No, sorry," Tails said. "But it's worth checking Never Lake. He's been going there a lot lately."

There it was again, that tingling warmth in Amy's heart that spread throughout her body. "H-he has?" she said, her voice barely leaving her throat.

"Yep," he replied. "Almost every time he's been somewhere, it's Never Lake. I don't think he even notices it. I'm not sure why, though. Maybe there's a secret stash of chilli dogs there?" he joked.

.

Amy bit her lip. Could it really be true that Sonic the Hedgehog, the carefree hero who never gave a second to the past, had been going to Never Lake? It was almost unfathomable. The thought of him spending time in one place was strange in itself but to think that he'd spent that time where they'd met…. For Amy, Never Lake was the most sacred place in the world; the moment that she met Sonic was the moment that she truly started to live her life. It meant everything to her.

.

It was only then that she began to wonder, did it mean that much to him? What if he too felt that beautiful nostalgia wash over him every time he went there?

_Oh, Sonic…_

Cursing her over-emotional mind, she felt her eyes begin to water. "T-Tails, I've got to go," she said, rushing to the door. "I've got to find him."

"Oh, okay," he said, sending her an encouraging smile as she left. "Good luck!"

.

Amy barely remembered to close the door after herself as she ran out of the workshop. She didn't need to think about where she was going; the directions were engraved into her heart. As her footsteps pounded into the ground below her, her mind ran through all of the things that she could say. She had no idea of how she was going to tell him the truth. At this point, she wasn't even sure if he'd listen to her. What if he was still so angry that he didn't want to talk? Even if he did listen, she wouldn't know how to even begin justifying how stupid she'd been.

.

How crazy was she to think that pretending to be a boy would make Sonic like her? It anything, it would only make him fear her. She just hadn't thought of that. She'd assumed that he'd see how much closer they were and that everything would fall into place, like a fairytale. Amy frowned, forcing herself to ignore the strain from her muscles as she ran. She wouldn't wait for destiny to write her own fairytale anymore. She needed to take her life into her own hands and fix the mess she'd made.

.

Maybe she had been stupid and crazy, but it didn't stop Amy from looking back on her time with Sonic and wishing that she could relive every second. Her heart drummed into her chest as she remembered exploring Mobius with him and learning things about him that she'd never known before. She remembered the way he made her laugh, time and time again. She remembered him running with her, wrestling with her, confiding in her. Each second in his company, shining more brightly than the next, drifted through her mind in a glowing storm of memories.

.

They fuelled her, urging her to run faster as she charged through the trees. She let them fill her mind and allowed only her instincts to guide her. Already she was nearing the glade that had started it all. Overcome with emotion, she stumbled into the clearing, forcing herself to stop as her eyes found him instantly. He was sitting on the grass with his arms resting on his knees as he stared into the distance, though she could tell that he wasn't playing attention to the scenery. She held a hand over her chest, willing it to stop heaving with every breath that forced through her lungs.

.

She focused on him, stepping forward softly, almost afraid of him hearing her. As if he'd sensed her, his ear twitched and he turned to face her, stopping her in her tracks. He stood up, surprised. For a moment they simply stood staring at each other, neither of them saying a word. The silence was killing her but Amy was scared to break it. She stayed there, with several metres between them, knowing that she should close the distance but refusing to move. She steeled herself. "Hi," she said quietly.

"Hey," he replied, his expression unchanging.

.

Her mind went blank. Everything that she'd considered saying on the way there had vanished. "Tails told me you might be here," she said. "He said you've been coming here… often."

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I guess I have."

The silence began to rear its ugly head again. Amy fidgeted, feeling the awkward atmosphere looming over her. To her surprise, Sonic broke it.

"I, err… I wanted to say thank you," he told her. "For yesterday. You… you really saved me. If it wasn't for you I'd probably be mince meat."

.

Amy let a smile settle on her lips. "You're welcome," she said, finally walking towards him. "There was no way I was letting him crush you while-"

"But," he said, interrupting her, "that doesn't change what happened. It doesn't fix what you did."

She stopped, feeling guilty again as her smile faded. Sonic was obviously still sour after her 'betrayal'. They were closer now, to the point where she could say something without having to project her voice across the field. She had the opportunity to make things right but she was terrified of making everything worse.

.

"Sonic," she began, trying to sound more confident than she felt. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for giving you all this trouble but trust me, I'm _not_ dating… Amy. It's not like that at all."

Sonic's brow furrowed and he sighed tiredly. "Andy, I don't wanna talk about this. It's okay, I get it. You're with Amy. No problem. Just leave me out of it." He turned away, and started walking towards the edge of the clearing. "Nice knowing you, Andy," he said.

Amy was still for a moment, stunned, before she ran in front of him. "Wait!" she cried. "Just listen to me."

"Just drop it, will ya?" he growled.

"No!" she said firmly, blocking his path. "Not until you listen. I'm _not_ with Amy, I swear to you."

.

Sonic lost all traces of weariness as he turned on her, glaring. "So that's why you had her keys, huh?" he demanded. "That's why you were outside her house in the middle of the night? You were lying to us the whole time!"

"Just give me a chance to explain!"

"What reasons could you possibly have for any of that? I don't want to hear it."

"Why can't you just _trust _me?" she asked, her voice rising in frustration.

He paused for a second. "I did, Andy," he said slowly. "I did."

Amy bit her lip, hating how hurt he looked as he said that. "Sonic, please…," she said, her voice faltering. "_Please_ listen. Me and Amy… are _not_ dating. At all."

"No?"

"No!"

.

Amy sighed, defeated. This was it. She was done playing around, and Sonic deserved to know the truth. "I'm not _with_ Amy," she said, "because…" She bowed her head, taking off her sunglasses and the baseball cap and throwing them to the ground, before forcing her slanted quills down into their original shape. She looked up, and using her normal voice she said, "I _am _Amy."

Everything in Sonic's demeanour changed. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he stepped back in shock. He was frozen on the spot, staring at her. The only part of him that moved was his eyes, as they flickered over her, making sure she was real, before returning to her face.

.

Amy wet her lips nervously, waiting for him to say something. She'd never seen him look so taken aback. He'd been gaping at her for what felt like hours. She offered him a tiny smile, though his expression was filling her with guilt. It was as if he didn't trust his own eyes. He blinked hard, and then finally he looked down, as if it had all dawned on him. He shook his head, his eyes still wide in disbelief.

"Wow," he murmured, running a hand through his quills. He looked back up at her, and Amy felt her stomach begin to somersault. Then he turned away.

.

"Sonic?" she said.

He didn't move. She walked over to him, gingerly stepping beside him.

"Sonic?" she tried again.

"So you did lie," he said quietly.

Amy swallowed thickly, unsure of whether or not she should speak.

"You lied to all of us. We thought…. We thought you were gone. But you were there the whole time," he said, almost musingly. He stared into the horizon, as if trying to make sense of it.

Amy's ears lowered. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice barely surpassing a whisper. She watched his shoulders rise and fall as he breathed deeply.

.

"All that time… Nearly three_ weeks_," he murmured. "I just can't believe…" He shook his head again. Then he chuckled, startling her, though he didn't look at all amused. "I guess that explains why we couldn't find you," he said.

"Sonic," she said anxiously. "I… I never..." She clenched her fists, frustrated with herself. "I-I didn't mean to make-"

"What the heck were you thinking, Amy?" he demanded, suddenly meeting her gaze so strongly that she almost wished he hadn't.

.

She leaned back from him, feeling like a child being scolded by their parent. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered.

"We thought you'd just run off," he said, his wounded gaze burning with ardent green flames. "No one knew where you were. We didn't even know when you were coming back."

"I know and I'm _sorry_-"

"But you were there the whole time."

"I know it was-"

Sonic huffed, clearly getting agitated. "I just don't get why you'd you do something like that!" he exclaimed.

"Because I wanted you to spend time with me!" she shouted.

.

The world around them fell into silence. Amy felt herself shaking lightly as tears begin to cloud her vision.

Sonic stepped back, his frustration dissolving instantly as he regarded her with wide eyes. "What?"

"I… I wanted you to s-stop running from me," she said, hating the fact that the tears were now rolling down her cheeks.

He was still staring at her, bewildered. She breathed an unsteady sigh, trying to compose herself despite the tiny streams that ran from her eyes.

"Remember th-the last day that I was… me? When I saw you and Knuckles in the park?" she said.

He paused, then nodded slowly as he began to look less surprised.

"Well, when I tried to talk to you, you just ran away. You _always_ run from me. And… and Knuckles said that it could be because I was a girl and that girls make you nervous.

.

"He said that if I was a boy you'd be more comfortable around me, so it got me thinking. I thought that if I pretended to be a boy… maybe we could be closer." She swallowed, resisting the urge to wipe her eyes. "And I know, it w-was a crazy idea and I didn't think it through, but I just wanted so badly for you to be happy around me."

Sonic's expression remained unfathomable, but Amy could tell that he was listening intently, waiting to hear everything that she had to say. She steeled herself to carry on. Sonic needed to know the truth if he was ever going to forgive her.

.

"I never thought that anyone would worry," she said. "I honestly didn't mean for you to go looking for me. I-I didn't think you would. And I was trying to lie as little as possible but when you found my purse and I kept letting things slip out, I… It just got s-so complicated! And then R-Rouge got involved, and I…" An abrupt sob forced back her speech, and she inwardly cursed herself for being such a wreck. "It was wrong of me to lie to you for so long but th-the longer I left it, the harder it was to stop! And I was so scared that when I told you truth, everything would go back to normal and you'd run away from me again. And I know it was stupid and I-I should never have done it in the first place and I _h-hate_ myself for hurting you, but…" She took a deep breath. "I wouldn't take back the time we spent together for anything in the world."

.

A flicker of something indecipherable danced across Sonic's eyes and Amy paused, unsure of what it meant.

Hesitantly, she said, "Even though I was pretending to be someone else, it was still me that got to spend all that time with you. We bonded faster than I knew was possible and I learnt things about you that, as Amy, I could never have known. But as _Andy_, I could. It was like meeting you all over again and I…" Her words were suddenly caught in her throat, as if her mind had dragged them back, afraid of how honest they were. She kept her mouth shut, refusing to let them pass.

.

As she'd expected, silence fell over them once again. She fidgeted, waiting for Sonic to speak. She'd had her say; now it was his turn. But his eyes continued to drift from her gaze to the ground and back again, while not a word left his lips. "Say something," she whispered, as if speaking too loudly might scare him away.

He sighed, looking at her. "You did all of that…," he said, "you pretended to be someone else, you lied to all of us for _three weeks_… just to get closer to me?"

.

Amy nodded, wiping her eyes. Somehow she didn't think he was going to forgive her very easily.

"That's _crazy_, Amy," he said.

"I know," she murmured, feeling worse as he stared into her eyes. At least he didn't look so angry anymore.

"But you know what's worse?"

She said nothing, dread creeping into her mind.

The corners of his mouth suddenly perked upwards. "You listened to Knuckles," he said.

.

Amy's dismay was instantly forgotten as she stared at him, taken by surprise.

"Out of all the people to take advice from… you listened to Knuckles?" The tiny smile on his lips stretched into a smirk as the spark began to return to his eyes. "He doesn't think, he just says stuff. You know that, Amy. Why would you listen to him?"

Amy was too shocked for words. She wasn't sure how to respond to his sudden teasing, though it comforted her slightly.

.

"Second of all, of course I'd look for you," he said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I-I left a note saying where I was," she said quietly.

Sonic let out a gentle laugh. "Right. Amy Rose left home to clear her head?"

"What's wrong with that?" she demanded.

"If it was from _Shadow_, I'd believe it," he said. "But from you?" He shook his head. "I didn't believe it for one second."

Amy couldn't help feeling touched that he knew her well enough not to believe her excuse. No one else had raised suspicion. They'd just accepted it. But despite everything, Sonic had gone to look for her. Maybe the whole plan had been a stupid idea to begin with; it was becoming clear that Sonic knew her more than she realised.

.

"I'm sorry, Sonic," she whispered, feeling her eyes well up again. "I know I made a mistake and I should've ended it sooner, but... you seemed to like being with me when I was a boy and I didn't want that to end," she admitted.

"Amy…" He stepped forward, putting his hands on her shoulders. He locked his gaze onto hers. "You don't have to be a boy for me to like you," he said sincerely.

"But I kept thinking you liked Andy so much more than… Amy," she said, saddened by the thought.

"But the reason I liked Andy so much," he said, smiling at her, "is because he reminded me of Amy. Because he _was_ Amy."

.

She began to smile back through her tears. "Really?" she breathed.

"Well, you were the same person, weren't ya?" he said. "No wonder I liked him."

Amy was sure she could feel her heart soaring at that statement but she kept it anchored. "But… you were never like that with the real me."

Sonic hesitated. He opened his mouth to speak, his eyes briefly dropping the barriers of his mind, before he closed it again. He looked down, letting his hands slip from her shoulders. Amy felt an unbearable wave of frustration crash through her, dragging with it the idea that Sonic was still as closed off from her as he was before.

.

They'd come so far…

.

"Please don't, Sonic," she pleaded, feeling those cursed tears returning. "Don't hide yourself from me."

He met her eyes again, though he didn't say a word.

She clamped her eyes shut, wishing that she could escape from the mess she'd made. "This is what I was scared of," she whispered. "We got so close over the past three weeks, but now it's going to be like nothing happened, isn't it?" She jumped as she felt his hands move back onto her shoulders, more tightly than before.

He wasn't offering her with a teasing smile or even a kind one; he was simply looking into her eyes. "No," he said firmly. "No, it's not gonna be like that. Amy, I-I'm sorry I ran from you. It wasn't right. I'm sorry."

.

Amy was speechless. She'd half-expected him to brush off the conversation completely and yet here he was apologising, when she was the one who'd caused so much trouble. "Th-Thank you," she said. "But it's… okay. I know now that I was making you uncomfortable when I was talking about romance all the time. I should've learned to stop that."

For a moment Sonic looked sad, and almost angry at himself. He frowned. Amy was sure there was something that he wasn't saying. He grunted, his eyes snapping into resolve.

.

"I didn't run from you just because of that," he blurted. "I ran because… Because I didn't… I didn't know how to deal with…." He tensed, and Amy saw the agitation of someone who was breaking through their walls for the first time. Not because they had to, but because they wanted to, and that in itself was part of the problem. As she stared into his eyes, felt the grip of his fingers on her shoulders, it was beginning to dawn on her that maybe Sonic the Hedgehog felt scared sometimes too.

.

He huffed again, determination solidifying the waves of anxiety in his gaze. "I ran because I can't control the way I feel when… when I'm with you," he finished softly.

Butterflies erupted in Amy's stomach. She tried to process what he'd said but she wasn't sure that she could trust her mind in translating what he meant by it. Naturally, her initial thoughts were that he really cared for her, as she'd already started to think during her time as Andy. And it could have been in her imagination, but his cheeks appeared to be taking on a hint of red. "Do you mean, you…?" she trailed off.

Sonic's smile was beginning to appear sheepish, which looked strange and foreign on his face. "Yeah," he said.

.

Finally, things were beginning to slot into place. Amy was wondering how on earth she was supposed to have known that he felt the same way, while at the same time, scolding herself for it being so obvious. She'd never felt so confused yet so sure about anything before in her life. She thought back to the two of them going on their searches, and Sonic's determination to find her. She thought of him reading the note, of the gathering at the beach and how, at the time, she couldn't understand why he'd looked so unhappy.

.

She remembered how surprised she'd been when he was standing outside her house on the night that he heard her in the kitchen. She remembered his face when they were at Never Lake and he'd confessed to feeling like everything was his fault. She thought of the hurt in his eyes when he thought she'd betrayed him. All of the signs had been there, but she'd never seen them. She was thrilled, yet frustrated that it had taken so much to reach this moment. Her mind was a tornado of feelings, each one rebounding off another and whipping around her before she had a chance to register it.

.

Overwhelmed by the storm of emotions in her head, she threw her arms around the only stability left: Sonic. She clung onto him, her arms around his neck, sobbing as if her tears were draining her inner turmoil. She wasn't surprised when he returned the embrace, as she would have been before all of this had started. His arms felt strong and safe, wrapped around her, holding her as if she would disappear. There were so many things that she wanted to say but it came out condensed into two little words. "Me too."

.

Sonic's grip tightened in response, but not uncomfortably. Amy sniffled, smiling through her tears. It was almost funny; all this time she'd been trying to earn his affections when she already had them.

"I can't believe you did all that just to try and make us closer," he said, and Amy felt his chest rise vibrating lightly as he spoke.

She closed her eyes, relaxed by his scent. "It was worth it," she whispered. She wasn't sure if he heard her.

.

There was a pause before he said, "Everyone worried about you, you know."

She pulled back to look at him, feeling guilt crawling back to her. "Even you?"

Sonic almost laughed. He pointed to the bottom of his eyes. "Why don't you ask these guys?"

Amy looked closer, noticing for the first time the dark circles under his eyes. She stared at him, feeling worse than ever. She couldn't imagine Sonic losing sleep over her. "Oh, _Sonic_," she whispered, tearing up again.

.

"It's okay, Amy," he chuckled. "Don't cry." He reached his hand up to her cheek, somewhat bashfully, and wiped away a tear with his thumb. "But can you do me a favour?"

She nodded, studying his tender smile.

"Promise me you won't ever do that again."

"I thought you liked Andy," she said with a breathless giggle.

"I did," he said, taking her hands in his and squeezing them gently. "But I like him a lot more as a girl."

She squeezed his hands in return, allowing a smile to settle on her lips. "I promise."

.

She moved back into the embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. "I preferred being a girl anyway," she murmured.

"Well that makes things easier," he joked. "I don't know how I'd explain to our friends that I'm dating a boy."

Amy found herself giggling again. She was content for the moment, letting her mind wander until it came to rest on something that refused to leave. "That reminds me," she said. "Our first day of training in Silver Valley, when we were wrestling…" She felt him stiffen. Well, that settled one thing; it hadn't been in her imagination.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

.

Amy looked him in the eye, feeling her lips stretch into a teasing grin. "Yes, you do," she said. "You were going to–"

"I wasn't gonna do anything," he protested, though his cheeks were beginning to look red again.

"I knew it!" She couldn't help laughing at the look of embarrassment on his face. "You were going to kiss a boy!"

"I was _not_. You're a girl."

"But you didn't know that."

.

Sonic stayed silent for a moment, and Amy knew he was beaten.

"D-don't take it the wrong way," he said, definitely turning red at this point. "I'm not on that side of the fence."

Amy was trying to contain her grin but Sonic blushing was the cutest thing she'd ever seen.

"It's just when your sunglasses fell off... I recognised your eyes and… and I don't know what came over me. I guess part of me knew it was you."

.

"You can't fool the heart," Amy said, her smile losing all traces of mockery.

"Guess not," Sonic agreed, gently stroking her cheek with his finger. "You can't run from it either."

They chuckled softly at the irony of their words. Sonic pulled her closer to him, holding her lovingly.

"So…" he said with a hint of mischief. "Now that I know it was you, can we try that kiss again? And I'm _sure_ you are a girl this time."

A giggle of genuine happiness bubbled from Amy's lips. "I'd like that," she whispered, and everything that had ever caused her heartache was suddenly melted away with a single kiss.

.

Sonic the Hedgehog was finally hers. He was there with her, holding her, kissing her, _loving_ her, and all without her pretending to be someone else. At last, she understood. She was Amy Rose, and there was no one else that she'd rather have been.

* * *

><p><strong>Fin. :')<br>I really hope you liked that. The ending had me bugged for ages so I hope it's all right. I was trying so hard to sum up all the themes while not boring everyone to death. Hopefully I've managed... **

**It's been such a long journey, I can't believe it's over. I haven't stopped writing on FF but I will be less active, as I'm sure you can already tell. :/ Check my profile for updates. :)**

**Again, thank you all. And thank you Skyelara. ^_^ (If you haven't read her stories, I'd seriously recommend them.)  
>Thank you <em>a thousand times<em> for your feedback. And I wish you all a (delayed) Happy New Year! :')**


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